Surviving the Nightmare
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: In a world filled with monsters, where the people you trust turn out to be your enemy, and your enemies claim to be your friends, what path will you take? Will you forsake what's right for love? Or will you betray those you love for what you believe is right?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Attack On Titan or any of the characters.

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Training

Adam stood motionless as the instructor, Shadis, screamed in his face. It didn't faze him any. After all. He had been there the day Wall Maria had fallen. It was why he enlisted.

"Did you hear me!?" Shadis shouted. "Take a lap!"

Adam turned, sprinting away from the instructor, beginning to run around the training field as the others began to practice their hand-to-hand combat. Adam's eyes focused on one of the people in the distance. A blonde named Annie. She was exceptional at fighting, and she was one of the top members of the class. Adam, on the other hand, was constantly scraping the bottom of the barrel. He was always in trouble for not screaming responses for the instructor, and since his punishment was to run laps, he was always short-changed during sparring and omnigear practice. He had always been a good brawler and he seemed to have some natural skill for using the ODM, but without having enough time to practice, he couldn't compete with hardly anyone else.

He finally slowed to a stop, wiping his sweat-soaked black hair back out of his eyes, the hair falling to the right as he usually wore it, just a little messier. He walked over to where Annie was training with one of the other cadets and the cadet smirked, turning to him.

"Want a rematch?" the cadet, a boy that had beaten the hell out of Adam the last time they fought, asked, readying himself.

"No," Adam said. "I'll deal with you another time. Right now, I'm here for Annie."

The cadet snorted, shaking his head and stepping back. "All yours."

Annie readied herself and Adam did the same. However, rather than sparring, Annie began to drill him on a number of more advanced techniques, both ones that the others had learned, and a lot that they hadn't. Finally, they switched to learning to wield a pair of swords, which didn't seem overly important to fight titans, giving they didn't have swords, and weren't small enough to warrant swordplay even if they did, but still, Adam enjoyed it and it _did_ teach them how to handle the swords they'd be using once they graduated. Adam was fairly good with swords. Since they always trained with the swords at the middle of the day, he was always able to practice that. At least, for a little while.

Adam stepped into the sparring ring with the weighted wooden swords, watching as Jean, one of the top cadets, stepped into the ring across from him. Adam sprinted forward the moment Shadis said to begin. Jean leaned out of the way of Adam's first slash and Adam spun, slashing with the other. Jean blocked it, slashing at Adam and Adam knocked it aside, slashing back the other way, Jean ducking under it. Jean swept Adam's legs out from under him and Adam did a backward somersault, regaining his feet and slashing upward, catching Jean across the chest, earning himself the only point he'd be getting. Jean pushed himself up from where he'd fallen, smirking, and charged. Adam blocked two strikes and ducked under a third, slashing only for Jean to step out of the way and slam a sword into his back. Adam crashed to the ground and slowly began to stand. As soon as he regained his feet, he spun, slashing at Jean, only for Jean to knock the sword into the air and smashing his other sword into Adam's chest. Adam crashed to the ground and groaned, pushing himself up to his knees. He looked up at Jean and Jean smirked.

"I thought you wanted to kill titans," Jean said. "How can you do that if you can't even beat me?"

"I'll...beat you...yet," Adam said, pushing himself up, raising his swords and shifting his position, turning sideways, one sword at an angle toward Jean, and the other horizontal in front of Adam.

Jean snorted, stepping forward and slashing at Adam. Adam ducked under the slash, spinning and slashing at Jean rapidly, Jean actually struggling to fend off the strikes. Finally, Adam knocked one of Jean's swords out of his hands, stepping forward and bringing both swords down in a diagonal slash at Jean's shoulder. However, Jean ducked under it, slamming his remaining sword into Adam's abdomen hard enough to lift him off the ground before dropping him.

"Good try Adam, but you're just not very good at fighting," Jean said.

Adam slowly stood as Annie walked over, helping him up before taking his swords, kicking Jean's fallen one to him. Adam moved out of the way and Annie charged, berating Jean around the ring in a painfully brutal beatdown Then, she walked over to stand beside Adam, crossing her arms and showing no emotion, as always.

"Adam, you needed a girl to save you," Shadis said. "Do you have any pride at all?"

"Yes sir," Adam said.

"Good," Shadis said. "Then you can fight Mikasa now."

Adam sighed, walking forward and stepped into the ring, taking a pair of training swords as Mikasa stepped into the other side with her own. Adam charged first, but before he even had time to finish his first slash, he was on his back with Mikasa's sword to his throat. Not that that surprised him. Mikasa was top of the class. Within seconds, Mikasa had two more points and Adam limped away from the ring.

"You're pathetic," Shadis said. "Go run laps until you figure out how to fight like a man."

Adam turned, beginning to run. As he did, the others continued to train, eventually moving on to practicing using ODM gear. Adam finally slowed to a stop beside the others, strapping his omnigear on himself and walking to the edge of the trees. They had recently begun to practice moving around in the omnigear, so the others would be moving around in the woods. He fired his ODM's cables and squeezed the propulsion triggers, shooting forward and zipping around trees and branches. After about five minutes, he found the others, an obstacle course having been set up. Just as he landed behind them, Shadis turned to him.

"Perfect timing," Shadis said. "You're up. Reach the finish line without touching any of the obstacles or the ground."

Adam sighed and nodded, moving to the starting area, taking off. He shot through the trees, careful to avoid running into any of the walls, logs, or dummy titans the obstacle course had. Finally, he landed at the finish line, sighing as he turned to Shadis, who was glaring at him, pocket watch held in front of himself.

"Lucky break," Shadis growled. "Fifteenth place."

Adam stared at him. He had never gotten above third to last. He smiled and nodded and Shadis turned, walking away. He took off with his ODM gear and the cadets all followed, Adam finding himself zipping along beside Annie after a moment. He looked over at her and she nodded to him before returning her attention to the task at hand, Adam doing the same, both zipping through the trees at a blistering pace. Finally, Shadis landed, the cadets landing around him. He turned, looking around at them.

"One of you all does not belong here," Shadis said. "He'll only get you killed, and he's a liability to all of you. However, I'm not allowed to kick him out without reason, so long as he is able to pass the tests. As such, I'll give him another test. If he cannot escape or defeat five of you of my choice, he will be dropped.

"That's not fair," Annie spoke up, everyone staring at him. "You'll choose the top five in the class, and then there will be no hope. If you want it to be fair, choose five from the middle."

"Mikasa, Jean, Bertholdt, Jack, and Max," Shadis said. "Happy?"

"I said to choose all five from the middle," Annie said.

"It's fine," Adam said. "I'll make it."

"It's Mikasa," Annie said.

"And all I have to do is escape," Adam said.

The other cadets all left into the trees and Adam turned toward the Jean and the others, Mikasa taking a step back as Jean and the two less skilled cadets all stepped forward. Jean charged first, Adam deflecting his first blow and slamming his blades into Jean's propulsion tanks. Both broke free and Adam rammed his shoulder into Jean, knocking him into the path of one of the other two. The other charged and Adam ducked under his slash slamming his sword blade into the cadet's gut. Then, he grabbed the back of his shirt and spun, hurling him into Jean, knocking both to the ground. The other weaker one charged and Adam spun around him, slamming the blade into the nape of his neck, dropping him. He turned as Bertholdt and Mikasa stepped forward, both swinging sloppily. Adam ducked under their blades, removing one of their tanks as he had with Jean's, then leapt into the air, taking off with his ODM gear. He glanced back during a flip, seeing Mikasa trying to follow with only one tank, and succeeding, so he shot back the other way, flipping past her slash and breaking her other tank free, catching her and dropping her of on a branch, then taking off again. This time, he was able to escape within a few minutes. After a few more, he landed in the training field as the rest of the cadets walked out, Shadis glaring at him.

"You went UA," Shadis said.

"No, he passed your test," Annie said.

"Good, then you can run thirty laps around the barracks with him," Shadis said.

Annie nodded and Shadis turned, beginning to run back to the barracks, the others following. Adam and Annie began to run, neither saying much for the first few laps. Adam, for the most part, was trying to figure out why Annie stuck up for him.

"You know, you wouldn't get in any trouble if you would just stop sticking up for me," Adam finally said.

"I know," Annie said. "And you wouldn't get in as much trouble if you would just give Shadis what he wants."

"It's kind of fun to see the look on his face when he tries to make me fail but I pass anyway, though," Adam said.

"Well, if you don't start toeing the line, he'll just force you to fail, and then where will you be?" Annie said.

Adam fell silent, the two continuing to run. Finally, they finished their laps, returning to the barracks for the night.

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Nightmare

Adam remained silent, watching as Shadis praised the top ten. He couldn't help but be proud of Annie. She had placed fourth. He himself had recovered well. Annie's advice to just do what Shadis wanted had worked fairly well. Instead of coming in dead last, or being failed out, he had made it to about the middle of the class. Not good enough to follow Annie to the Military Police, but he _could_ join the scout legion with Eren and all of the others.

Finally, Shadis's speech ended and they were ordered to clean Wall Rose's cannons around Trost District. Adam headed up to the wall, beginning to clean. As he did, he looked around. He was with some of the other underachievers of the platoon, but the one person he wanted to see wasn't there.

"Thinking about your girlfriend?" one of them grinned as Adam looked back toward Trost District yet again.

"She's not my girlfriend," Adam said.

A couple of the other chuckled, but Adam ignored them. He continued to scrub the inside of a cannon before sighing, setting it down, resting his hands on his ODM gear. He had grown attached to it. He had gotten good with it. Not nearly as good as Mikasa, Annie, or Eren, but he _had_ gotten good enough to hold his own against people like Bertholdt or Marko.

"Dude, just go make out with her and be back before anyone finds out," another said.

Just then, lightning struck the ground just outside the gate to the south. As they all watched, smoke curled into the air, a pair of massive, skinless hands reaching up over the walls. The Colossal Titan, the same that had broken the gate five years ago and caused the fall of Wall Maria, stood, peering over the wall. Then, with a tremendous explosion. Enormous chunks of stone flew from the ruined gate, crashing down around Trost. Adam felt his stomach drop, staring at the destruction.

"Shit!" Adam swore. "We need to move!"

"We need to regroup with everyone!" another shouted.

They all headed for the Garrison Regiment Headquarters, landing at the same time as nearly all of the other cadets and the entire Garrison Regiment arrived.

"Is this everyone?" someone called.

Adam looked around. Eren and a couple of the others weren't there.

"We're still missing a couple trainees," Adam said.

"They'd better hurry," someone else said.

"Forget them, they're just recruits!" someone shouted. "We need to evacuate!"

Just then, Eren and the group he had been with arrived and they all hurried to get their gear ready for a fight, refilling their gas canisters, stocking up on blades, and doing anything they could to steel themselves for the inevitability of a lot, if not all, of their friends dying. Finally, they were gathered together for orders. The main force of the Garrison Regiment would be the vanguard. The Training Corps would be the middle guard, along with some of the Garrison Regiment to command them. The rear guard would be the most elite of the Garrison Regiment. Adam sighed, looking around, but he couldn't see Annie. Or Bertholdt. Or Reiner. He sighed, looking around again. Everyone was terrified. If they fought, they'd die. If they ran away, they'd be executed. There was no reason to _not_ be afraid. They'd have to be insane to be calm.

"Adam," one of the trainees he'd be working with said. "We're going."

"Right," Adam nodded, turning and following them as they left for their position.

As Adam swung up from the street, he made sure to go high, to get a view of what was going on out in front. What he saw was dozens of titans already inside the wall, what few vanguard members remained struggling to fend them off, and rapidly dying. Adam shook his head, sending his cables out and swinging high again. However, just as he cleared the top of the building on his right, it exploded. His eyes widened as he began to flip, time seeming to slow. Below him, the titan that had smashed through the building had one of Adam's three teammates in its left hand, another was being chewed, and the third had been crushed between a chunk of debris and the opposite building. Adam felt his body go numb. Then, it began to react on instinct. It turned, sending his cables out, one stabbing into the side of the titan's head, the other into the side of its neck. Then, it sent itself flying at the titan with its steam, retracting one of the cables, then shooting it past the titan, into a building in the distance. The titan swatted at him with its free hand, but his body flipped, making itself slip past the hand, blades crossing before tearing into the titan, carving out a massive chunk. Then, Adam's body flipped, landing on the next rooftop and skidding to a stop, watching as the titan fell, crashing down on the other building, beginning to steam and melt.

"I...killed it," Adam breathed. "I...I have to..."

He looked around. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't possibly kill titans alone. He needed a team. He turned, running to the edge of the building and leaping to the next. From there, he dropped into the street and took off with his ODM gear. He sped down the street quickly, going high each time, trying to find someone else. Anyone else. Finally, he landed on a rooftop and sighed, looking around. There was no one. Everyone was gone. Just then, the bell signaling a retreat began to toll. He looked toward the inner wall, then stopped, seeing Mikasa streak past. She was someone. A very skilled someone who could probably keep him alive.

He followed her, the two going about three blocks before landing on a rooftop where most of the others that Adam knew from the class were standing around. As Adam landed, he looked around, spotting Annie off to the side. He inhaled slowly, suddenly feeling like he had been holding his breath. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, trying to exhale, only for his breath to catch. He grit his teeth, trying to fight it back. He couldn't cry. Not now. They weren't safe.

"Adam?" Marco asked, kneeling beside him. "It's alright. No one can blame you."

Adam shook his head, trying to move, to stand, to do anything, but his body suddenly felt like lead. He lifted an arm and it shook, barely remaining where it was. He inhaled again and again his breath caught as he tried to exhale. He looked up just as Annie knelt in front of him.

"Can you stand?" Annie asked.

Adam tried, but again, nothing would respond. He shook his head.

"It's alright," Annie said. "Just rest. Where's your team?"

Then, Adam made the mistake of opening his mouth. Suddenly, he couldn't hold it. He folded forward, a strangled cry escaping, transforming into a sob as it did. Adam Fought to regain control, but now that the floodgates were open, he couldn't get them to close. His shoulder shook as he sobbed. He felt a hand on his shoulder, though he wasn't sure whose. Finally, someone yanked him up, slapping him, hard. He blinked, vision sharpening to see Ymir glaring down at him.

"Enough, you fucking coward," Ymir snapped. "We're going. You're coming. Get the fuck up!"

Adam blinked once before pushing himself up, looking around. Mikasa was streaking away, slaughtering titans as she reached them, moving rapidly, but using up too much gas. The others were all headed for Headquarters, where there was gas and blades stored. Adam swallowed hard before following, Annie at his side and Ymir following.

"You okay?" Annie asked.

Adam remained silent. His body was acting on its own again. He could feel it. Even though his body wasn't numb, he could sort of feel that he wasn't really in control. After a few streets, and a few titans dead, Mikasa's gas suddenly stopped and she fell.

"She's out," Adam said, voice as frail as he felt.

"Where are you going!?" Ymir shouted, Adam realizing that his body was taking him after Mikasa.

"I think I'm trying to help her," Adam said, not close enough for anyone to hear.

Sure enough, Adam's body swung itself down past Mikasa, scooping her up just as a titan lumbered into view ahead of him. As he cleared his swing, his body released Mikasa, who sailed into the air, screaming. Then, his body attached a cable to the titan, sending himself speeding past it, slashing its weak point and killing it, then caught Mikasa and took off for the headquarters again. After a moment, he landed on a rooftop where Armin and Conny had stopped. As soon as he did, Annie and Ymir landed beside him.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ymir asked.

"Are you in control?" Annie asked.

Adam stared at her before shaking his head.

"I see," Annie sighed. "Looks like your fight or flight response is broken. At least you got good with your gear. Listen to me. You need to focus, right now."

He stared at the ground in silence. Just as he did, the ground trembled and he turned, staring at a pair of titans walking toward them. He felt his body starting to move to fight them but Annie set a hand on his shoulder and he stopped, all feeling suddenly returning, his strength leaving him, dropping him to his knees.

"Oh great, when he's in control he's a fucking pussy," Ymir said.

"What do we do about them?" Conny asked.

They all looked toward the titans again, only to stare in shock as one of them, a muscular one with long messy black hair took a combat stance they had been taught in basic training, then slammed a devastating chop into the other titan's neck, splitting its weak point completely as it removed its head, the head sailing directly toward them.

"Look out!" Conny shouted.

Adam surged to his feet anyway, tackling Annie away less than a second before the head could hit them, the others only barely getting away too. Adam sighed, pushing himself up and away from Annie, who also sat up.

"Sorry," Adam said.

"It's fine," Annie said, standing and dusting herself off, pulling him up. "That titan...it's going after another one."

Adam turned, watching as the titan walked through the streets, heading to intercept another titan. "It's abnormal. It a titan that kills other titans?"

"Maybe we can use that," Annie said. "If we lead it toward headquarters, it'll kill all of the titans there for us. All you'll have to do is keep from getting caught."

Adam stared at her, then looked to Conny, Armin, and Mikasa. They all nodded and Adam stood, walking over to Mikasa, giving her one of his tanks and half of his blades. Armin gave her one of his tanks as well and then looked to Adam.

"So, who's going to draw-Adam wait!" Armin shouted.

Adam ignored him, forcing his body to respond. He moved rapidly, heading for the abnormal, who had just finished stomping on a titan's neck until it was paste. As soon as he reached the titan, he slashed its arm before swinging around, heading for headquarters. He glanced back, seeing the titan completely ignoring him. He landed on a building and looked around. Then, he took off, heading for the same titan as the abnormal. He reached it first, flipping over its head, barely escaping an attempt to catch him, then took off toward headquarters again. The titan stumbled after him, mouth wide open and drool running out of it. Behind it, the abnormal followed. Then, just as he cleared a building blocking his path, his gas ran empty. His eyes widened as he began to fall, but before he could land, the titan chasing him grabbed him by the legs, raising him over its head.

Adam watched the titan, a numb feeling filling him again. So this was how he died. Not too terribly bad, he supposed. Maybe it would even be quick. And it wasn't like he'd been totally useless. He had managed to kill a couple. And he had gotten the abnormal part of the way there. The others could take it from there.

The titan opened its hand and Adam began to fall. He closed his eyes, praying for it to be quick. Then, something slammed into his diaphragm, robbing him of his breath. A couple of moments later, as his brain was still struggling to catch up, he registered a roar, then a loud crash, like a window shattering. Then, he was lying on the ground. He blinked, looking around and saw Annie sitting beside him, checking her tanks. She tossed them away, sighing and glanced at him.

"You idiot," Annie sighed. "You almost got yourself eaten."

"You...saved me?" Adam asked.

Annie nodded and Adam swallowed, feeling his eyes start to burn again.

"Thank you," Adam said, tears running out of his eyes.

"It's alright," Annie said. "That abnormal drew the rest away. We'll be safe here for a bit. You can rest now."

She stood and Adam looked up at her, worriedly.

"Where are you going?" Adam asked.

"To get more gas," Annie said. "We have a plan to kill the titans down below."

"But...I...I can't..."

"It's alright," Annie said. "You stay here. I'll bring you new tanks and blades."

Adam hesitated, then nodded. Annie walked away and Adam crumbled to the floor again, sobbing. He was useless. Completely and utterly useless.

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	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Reclaimed

Adam looked up as Annie knelt in front of him, holding out a gas tank. He took it, swapping it for one of his while she switched the other. Then, she swapped his broken blades for fresh ones and pulled him to his feet.

"We're leaving," Annie said. "All we have to do is make it to the wall."

Adam nodded just as Mikasa leapt out the window, using her cables to go up to the roof of headquarters. Armin followed instantly, followed by Jean. After a moment, Annie, Reiner, and Adam all did the same. As they arrived, they found the titan that had been attacking the others pinned to the wall of a building, a group of titans tearing chunks of it off and eating them.

"We should help it," Mikasa said. "Maybe if we can figure out what's going on with it, we can use it."

"Are you insane?" Jean asked.

"Maybe we could turn that titan into an ally," Annie suggested. "It'd be a much more powerful weapon than any cannon."

"You're nuts," Jean said. "You want to _save_ a _titan_."

Just then, another titan lumbered into the street, passing the group eating the abnormal without a sideways glance. However, just as it did, the abnormal roared, shoving his way out of the group, massive chunks of his body missing, along with both arms. However, before anyone,including the titans, could react, the abnormal's jaws latched onto the titan that was passing. It bit down, teeth sinking into the weak point and killing the titan before the abnormal swung the titan over itself, slamming it down on another titan, then swung it sideways, the captive titan's head tearing off and the body crashing into another titan, killing it.

"Who was it you wanted to save?" Jean asked.

The abnormal roared before falling to its knees and tipping forward, crashing down hard. They all watched it as it lay motionless for several seconds.

"Looks like it's out of juice," Reiner said.

"Guess it's a moot point now," Annie said.

"Wait," Adam said, seeing the flesh over its weak point moving. "There's something moving in it."

They all turned, staring as something began to rise up out of it, pushing muscle groups aside as it did. Then, the thing, a human, sat up, tipping backward slightly and stopping, head rolled back but unconscious. It was Eren. Mikasa was off before anyone else even considered moving. Armin followed shortly after her. They stared at Eren in shock as Mikasa landed in front of him, hugging him before pressing her ear to his chest. They all swung down to the street as Mikasa pulled Eren the rest of the way out of the titan, which was steaming and melting now. She carried him to the street before beginning to sob, clinging to Eren as though afraid he'd disappear again. Armin knelt beside him, mumbling to himself and also beginning to cry, lifting Eren's left hand, which had the sleeve ripped off just above the elbow, and lacing his fingers with Eren's.

"I thought...you said he was eaten," Adam said.

"He...he was," Armin said. "A titan was going to eat me but Eren pulled me out and got eaten instead. He had had a foot bitten off before, and when the titan ate him, he lost his arm."

Adam stared down at Eren's right leg, where his pants were also ripped off just below his knee and where he had no boot. He looked around, then up at the wall in the distance.

"We need to go," Adam said finally. "We need to get to the wall."

"Oh so you finally want to act like a man huh?" Ymir asked.

"He's right," Jean said. "We can celebrate Eren being alive once we're safe. For now, let's go."

The others all nodded and Mikasa stood with Eren, Armin helping her as they all headed back. As they travelled, they passed about five titans, but they made sure to give them a wide birth and were able to avoid a fight. Finally, they reached the wall and were led to where everyone else had gathered. However, within a few minutes, Adam had lost track of everyone. He looked around, seeing nothing but a sea of unfamiliar faces. He clenched his fists, feeling his chest start to compress, and feeling like he couldn't catch his breath. He pushed his way through the crowd quickly, escaping before he could suffer a full-blown panic attack, and ducked into a back alley, sitting down against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head in his hands, his breaths coming in shaky, uneven gasps. After several seconds, a hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up, seeing Annie kneeling beside him.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked.

He shook his head and Annie sighed, sitting beside him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Just focus on your breathing," Annie said. "If you can calm yourself down, everything won't feel so overwhelming."

He nodded, struggling to even out his breathing. After a few minutes, it finally began get a little easier, his breaths slowing, his muscles relaxing. Finally, he was able to breathe normally again, though it still felt like his head was spinning. Just then, a cannon went off and he and Annie both jumped, looking around.

"What the hell was that?" Adam asked.

"I don't know," Annie said, both standing. "Come on. Let's go and see."

Adam nodded and followed Annie as they headed toward the sound. After a few moments, they were standing on top of a roof overlooking a ring of Garrison Regiment troops around a smoking half-formed titan skeleton, muscles on some parts, and an arm raised toward the canon that had fired, the arm having been blown to bits past the elbow. Inside the titan's ribcage were Armin, Eren, and Mikasa, the titan shell having shielded them from the blast.

"What...what are they doing?" Adam asked. "Why are they attacking him? He saved us."

"They don't know that," Annie said. "All they know is that he popped out of a titan's back. And now, they've seen him create that to block a cannon ball. They almost certainly think he's a titan pretending to be a human, and they want to kill him to make sure he can't kill us from the inside."

Suddenly, Armin ran out of the steam left by the titan skeleton, taking a basic salute stance, feet together, one hand behind his back, and the other in a fist over his heart. "He's not an enemy to humankind! We're willing to give up all the information we know about the titans!"

"Quit pleading for your life, we won't hear it!" the Garrison Regiment officer currently in charge shouted.

He was a tall thin man with wiry hair, a gaunt, haunted face, and sunken, black-ringed eyes. And he looked absolutely terrified.

"You've just revealed your true colors in front of our eyes!" the officer shouted. "What right do you have to plead? If you're saying he's not a titan then show us the proof! Failing that, we'll just eliminate the threat that he poses!"

"There's no need for proof!" Armin shouted. "It was never about what we should consider him in the first place!"

"Excuse me?" the officer demanded.

"I understand that many people saw what happened!" Armin shouted. "Then they must have seen him fighting the titans as well! And they also must have seen the titans attacking him! That means those titans regarded him the same way they regard us humans! As food! No matter how we try to slice it, that much is undeniable!"

"Prepare to attack!" the officer shouted after several seconds of Garrison Regiment troops murmuring about whether or not Eren was on their side. "Don't fall for their lies, no matter how clever they are! They're ways are alien to us! They always have been! I wouldn't put it past the titans to be able to turn into humans to attack from within! We won't let them have their way any longer!"

The soldier raised his arm and Armin squeezed his eyes closed, stiffening his posture and shouting for all he was worth.

"I was, I am, and I remain a soldier!" Armin shouted. "Sworn to dedicate my heart and soul to the restoration of humankind! I have no greater ambition than to give up my life should it help that cause! Let us add that titan power of his to our own remaining forces! We might even be able to reconquer the town that way! For the human race's greatest glory! I shall use what little time remains until I go to my grave to advocate the strategic advantage that he represents!"

The officer's arm swung up and back, preparing to signal their deaths. Then, a man in his sixties, if not older, with a bald head and a grey mustache caught the officer's arm, stopping him.

"That's enough," the old man said. "Didn't you see how beautiful a salute that was?"

"Commander Pyxis," the officer gaped.

"I've only just arrived here, but I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on," Pyxis said. "Why don't you go and take charge of the reinforcements. As for me, something tells me it would be in my best interest to hear what these three have to say."

The officer staggered back a step before saluting and leaving, the assembled soldiers dispersing as well. Adam sighed. So there really was someone crazy enough to listen to the truth after all.

"Come on," Jean said. "Let's head back."

The others all nodded and they returned to where the survivors were gathered, landing near the rest of their friends.

"What happened?" Christa asked.

"You'll probably find out soon enough," Jean said. "For now, we can't say."

They nodded just as news of a possible plan to retake Trost began to spread through the crowd. Adam felt his gut drop instantly. If they were being sent back in, they would die. Either his body would take control and start killing titans again until one eventually caught him, or his body would leave him in control, in which case he would simply cower on the ground until he was killed. He couldn't survive it again. He wouldn't. He wasn't good enough.

"You fucking wimp," Ymir said, glaring down at him. "If you're so scared, why don't you just run away already?"

"Stop it!" Conny snapped. "Why do you hate him so much!?"

"I son't hate him," Ymir said. "But he's a fucking wimp. I don't care that he's scared, I care that he's good enough to kill titans, but if he's not running off base instinct, he can barely even stand on his own! Christ, Annie had to cart his worthless ass around ever since we found him, and had to get him gas and blades because he was too much of a pussy to get them himself."

"That's enough!" Jean snapped.

"No," Adam said. "She's right. I'm worthless. Just like in training."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Jean snapped. "You outmaneuvered five people, including me, Annie, and _Mikasa_ , for Christ's sake. You're not worthless! You're just afraid. And no one can blame you."

Adam looked toward the crowd where Daz, an especially terrified trainee, was arguing with a soldier, saying that he wanted to leave, and that being executed for it was better than being eaten by a titan. Others, including Garrison Regiment soldiers, were having similar reactions, though less extreme.

"Attention!" Pyxis suddenly shouted from atop the wall, voice carrying so well that it drowned out everyone else, getting everyone's attention. "I am about to explain the strategy for reclaiming Trost District! Our objective is the gate that has been destroyed! We must reach the hole and plug it! Before I begin, allow me to introduce this young man, Eren Jaeger, of the Training Corps. We have been carrying out secret tests in titan shapeshifting! He is the successful result of that! He can form and control the body of a titan at will! He will use that titan form to pick up the massive boulder not far from the gate, and use it to plug the hole! Your role, ladies and gentlemen, is to protect him from the other titans until such a time as he has plugged the hole! You will go into Trost, get the titans' attention, and draw them to one corner of the wall! Then, you will hold their attention there at all costs until the gate has been sealed! While you do, an elite team will escort Eren to the boulder and safeguard him until he completes his mission. One more thing, fear alone will only get you so far as a motivator!"

"Bullshit!" Daz suddenly shouted. "I'm not letting you throw away my life for something as crazy as that! What do you guys think we are, disposable blades!? No way!" Daz turned to leave and a Garrison Regiment soldier moved to stop him.

"Hey wait, do you want a capitol offense on your head!?" the soldier shouted.

"Humanity's done for!" Daz shouted. "I'm spending what little time is left with my family!"

"They would have us all die today, they would!" a Garrison Regiment soldier that had wanted to leave before shouted. "I'm outta here!"

All around them, more and more people began to turn, beginning to flee. Suddenly, the same officer that had tried to execute Eren drew his swords.

"Say your prayers you mutineers!" He shouted. "I'll cut you down right where you stand!"

"Let it be known, those of you who leave this place now will be pardoned!" Pyxis shouted, everyone freezing, staring up at him. "Titans are terrible creatures, and once someone gives in to that fear, they can never face one of them again! Those of you who have already experienced that fear are free to leave!"

"You can leave," Annie said, looking to Adam. "No one would blame you. You could be safe."

Adam stared at her, hurt that she would think he'd run away, even though he himself wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't. "I...no. I won't run away."

Annie nodded as Pyxis began to shout again.

"Anyone who would allow their parents, siblings, and loved ones to experience that same terror for themselves is free to walk away!" Pyxis shouted, everyone who had been leaving freezing before turning back and returning. Let us talk about four years ago! About the operation to retake Wall Maria! A reconquest plan! It had such a nice ring to it! However, it was nothing but a culling for the homeless the government could no longer afford to support! Everyone kept silent about it, thus allowing them to be sent to their collective doom! Because of this, we have been able to survive within the confined space of these walls! It was a sin that all of humanity is guilty of, myself included! Conflict with the inhabitants of Wall Maria never became a prominent issue, since they have been attacking in small groups! But what now!? If Wall Rose is breached, we won't get away with a mere twenty percent less mouths to feed! With only Wall Sina to live in, not even half of what remains of humanity would live on! If the human race died out, it wouldn't be because the titans ate us all! It would be because humans killed each other! We cannot allow death to progress any further within our walls! Therefor, I ask this of all of you, please die where you are!"

Slowly, a cheer began to grow in the crowd. Then, they all rushed forward, launching themselves over the walls into the streets of Trost once again. There were dozens of titans now, maybe more. Adam felt terror grip him instantly, but Annie caught his hand as they were falling. He glanced at her and nodded. She nodded as well and they sent out their cables, both leveling out, Adam passing so close to the ground that he could swear he felt road rash spontaneously develop on his ass, despite there being about an inch of space between left. He launched himself forward, traveling faster than he ever had with his gear, mind reeling from trying to keep up. He knew that he was at least partially in control, and that Annie was with him. They led several titans to the wall, each time getting away and returning for more. Adam saw countless soldiers get caught as they did, but on their third trip, they heard Marco's voice shouting. As they began to head that way, a titan suddenly burst out of a building ahead of them. Adam flipped over a chunk of rubble, planting a cable in the titan's head and streaking forward, zipping past it and slicing a chunk out of its weak point before flipping and landing on his feet on an adjacent roof as the titan crashed down. Just then, he heard Marco scream even louder and headed in that direction, looking around for Annie. Just as he landed, he froze, seeing a titan in the process of eating Marco, having already bitten half his head and his right arm off.

"Marco!" Adam shouted, stepping forward only for Annie to catch him, tears running out of her eyes.

"It's too late," Annie said. "We need to get to the wall."

Adam grit his teeth but nodded. The four of them turned, heading for the wall.

They found a section off to the side of where the titans had gathered, then headed along the wall toward the rest of the humans. Annie stopped a short distance away, however, and Adam stopped with her, Reiner and Bertholdt continuing.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

Annie stared at the ground for several moments before speaking. "When I arrived, the titan had destroyed his ODM gear and had broken his legs. There was nothing I could do. Reiner and Bertholdt arrived just before me, but they couldn't do anything either."

Adam nodded, wrapping his arms around Annie, Annie tucking her face into his shoulder as he did. "I guess it's my turn to comfort you, huh?"

Annie managed a weak laugh, pulling back and drying her eyes. "I guess so. Come on. We should go and find the others, make sure we didn't lose anyone else."

Adam nodded and they made their way through the assembled soldiers, looking for any familiar faces. After about twenty minutes, they found Jean just as a red smoke trail shot into the sky.

"Red smoke," Adam breathed. "Does that mean...they failed? Armin and Mikasa are with them too, right? They can't have...Mikasa would never let..."

"We don't know that they've failed," Annie said.

They watched in silence as titans began to leave from the back of the group below them, heading for the boulder. They couldn't do anything to stop them, but as time ticked by, the soldiers at the top of the wall began to grow more and more restless. Then, suddenly, steam exploded up from where the boulder was supposed to be. It was a massive column that they couldn't see through, but when it began to slowly more toward the hole in the gate, a cheer rang out from the humans. Everyone knew, that was Eren. Adam watched in silence, praying for everyone on the team to succeed safely. Then, after several more minutes, there was a deafening crash and a cloud of dust and steam shot away from the gate before thinning as a trail of yellow smoke shot into the air. They had done it. Eren had plugged the gate. Adam sighed in relief, smiling and falling onto his rear. Just as he did, the order went out to send reinforcements to help the elite team's survivors retreat. The more seasoned Garrison Regiment soldiers were the first to act, taking off into the city. However, before they had even gotten halfway, tiny specks of green began to fall from the top of the outside of Trost District over the broken gate. After a moment, someone announced the good news.

"It's the Scout Regiment!" someone shouted.

Adam smiled, watching titans beginning to fall near the gate. If the Scouts had returned, then Trost was safe. They could clean them up. Maybe not quickly, but they could. After a moment, Annie knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on," Annie said. "Let's head back and rest."

Adam nodded and stood, both of them heading to a safer area where trainees were gathering to rest.

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	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Laid to Rest

Adam lifted another body, ignoring the blood that instantly soaked him, ignoring the disgusted looks of those around him. He carried it to where the bodies were being gathered for funeral rights and set it down.

"Do you know who she is?" one of the Garrison Regiment soldiers who was in charge of getting the bodies identified asked.

"Laura Lane," Adam said. "She was a trainee who just graduated."

The Garrison soldier nodded and Adam turned, heading back for the other two teammates he had allowed to die. One had been crushed by debris, and was barely more than soup with limbs thrown in. The other had been in the process of being chewed. As he returned with the last, or at least, what little he could find of him, Annie arrived with a body of her own. He glanced at her and she stared at the blood covering him before turning and walking into the city again, Adam following. They both silently agreed who to collect next. A few minutes later, they reached Marco's body just as Jean told a Garrison Regiment soldier who he was. Adam helped Jean carry him back, Annie bringing another body nearby.

Once they had delivered Marco's body, they all set off to find more again. They had already been working for two days to recover the corpses. And there were so many already that Adam was shocked they'd identified most of them. Of course, there were some they couldn't. After filling its stomach, titans puked the bodies back out, leaving them in an unidentifiable mess thanks to the stomach acid, and the people having been chewed. And yet there were still so many more.

Adam stopped as he reached the gate. The boulder didn't quite fill the hole, there was a small gap at the top, but it was only maybe a foot high and barely six inches wide. He looked around. There were countless bodies lying strewn across the ground here in various states of dismemberment. And a few spots of blood looked suspiciously like they might have been bodies at one time. He spotted a cart with two wheels and a place for a horse or an ox to pull it. He began to pile the bodies on until he could barely move the cart, then began to push, wheeling it through the easiest path he could to the gathering area. Then, he and several others offloaded the cart. As he was headed back, Reiner came with him. They made several more trips, Reiner's strength helping immensely with the task. However, they worked in complete silence until their final trip to the gate.

"When Marco died...what did you see?" Reiner asked. "I was...out of it, of sorts."

"I was with Annie when we heard him screaming, but I got separated by a titan attacking and had to deal with it," Adam said. "Then, when I arrived, all I saw was three of my friends watching in shock as another friend was brutally killed by a titan. There wasn't anything we could have done, though. All we could do was watch."

Reiner nodded and fell silent again. When they reached the gathering point, they offloaded the bodies and it was declared that all of the bodies that could be found had been collected. They set to work building funeral pyres for the bodies, piling them on the pyres by the dozen before lighting them. Finally, the last of the bodies was burning and Adam stood, watching the pyre on which he had laid his team, along with a dozen other people. The rest of his friends were off in the distance, closer to where a little ways to his left, but Adam didn't feel like going over there. He'd been nothing but an anchor to them when they were trying to survive Trost, and he had gotten his team killed. He hadn't known them well, but he had been responsible for their deaths. Somehow, some part of him knew that he had attracted that titan by swinging too high. It was ridiculous, but he couldn't shake the feeling. He stared at the flames. He should be up there too. It was no less than he deserved.

"You okay?" Annie asked.

"Did...did I get them killed?" Adam asked, voice trembling. "Did I attract the titan by swinging to high?"

Annie watched him for a moment before shaking her head. "No. The titan that killed your team happened upon them by chance. It wasn't your fault. This is what happens when people fight titans. It's why I'm joining the Military Police. I don't want to watch friends die. I...I wish you could come with me."

"So do I," Adam said. "I could...join the Garrison Regiment. It wouldn't be as safe as the Military Police, but it would be safer than the scouts."

"That's true," Annie nodded.

"If...If I joined the scouts...would I..." Adam trailed off, staring at the ground.

"You'd survive," Annie said. "If you trusted your instincts, you'd be just fine."

"Not that," Adam said. "Would I be able to see you? Whenever we weren't out scouting, I mean."

Annie's eyes widened as she stared at him. After a moment, she stared at the ground.

"I don't know," Annie said. "Would you want to? If you were out there risking your life, and I was hiding in the inner district?"

"I think...that's what I want," Adam said. "For you to be in the inner district, where it's safe. I...I don't want to have to...ever find out what I'd do if you died."

Annie stared at him in silence before slipping her hand into his. "If you join the scouts, I'll try to make as much time for you as I can. But I can't promise anything."

Adam smiled slightly and nodded, still staring at the fire. "I've been thinking. I know it's kind of random, but...I killed three titans...I think...and dulled my blades entirely each time. You would think humanity would have made a more durable kind of sword by now."

Annie smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah. I suppose you're right."

Adam remained silent as they watched the pyres burn. Eventually, they and all of the others headed back to their barracks to sleep. In a few days they'd have to choose their regiments. But first, Adam expected there would probably be a big deal about how to deal with Eren.

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	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Assignment

Adam had been right about there being a big fuss about dealing with Eren. In fact, there was an entire military tribunal, interrupted by Pastor Nick, a man that worshiped the three walls as gifts from God, and who took every opportunity to preach about how great they were, and yelled at one man who said that all the gates should be walled off. In the end, the people began to demand Eren be executed, and Mikasa along with him, only for Eren to scream at them and call them cowards, telling them that if they wouldn't fight for themselves, then they should put their trust in the people who _were_ willing to fight, and specifically him. Then, Captain Levi of the Scout Regiment had promptly beaten Eren bloody, just to prove he could. Once he was done, he asked the Military Police if they'd be physically capable of killing Eren if he transformed, then Commander Erwin of the Scout Regiment suggested that Eren be temporarily placed in the Scout Regiment under Levi's "care" in order to provide Eren with a chance to prove his worth during their next trip beyond Wall Rose. And so, Eren was placed in the Scout Regiment early. And in Levi's personal squad of super-elite soldiers, no less. Adam was kind of jealous.

Of course, since then, things hadn't exactly been great. For one thing, Eren had been allowed zero contact with anyone since being taken by the Scout Regiment, meaning that Armin was worried and Mikasa was going back and forth between worried and moody. That was really a problem because, after the battle of Trost, it had been decided by the others that the best way to help Adam get over his fear, was for him to train harder, mostly with Mikasa and Annie. So, he had had a moody Mikasa beating him bloody, and Annie nearly breaking his bones for the last two days. The other thing that had made things unpleasant was that two titans the Scout Regiment had captured to study had been killed, so now, all of the trainees, because the newbies who could barely fight was always the most logical first place to look for a skilled titan-murderer, were gathered in a room with long tables set up for ODM gear inspections.

"What is the last maintenance you had performed on your gear?" the inspector asked Adam as he stopped in front of him.

"I had my cables swapped out after the battle of Trost District," Adam said.

"It's logged," the inspector's assistant reported.

"So these are new cables?" the inspector asked, picking up the coils that had been removed for the inspection.

"They are," Adam nodded.

The inspector was silent for a long while before setting them back down. "Very well. You may all reassemble your gear."

They all did so and put it away before heading to the drill field where they'd be selecting their Regiments. They all formed up in front of the stage and remained silent. After a moment, Commander Erwin walked out onto the stage.

"I'm the commander of the Scout Regiment, Erwin Smith," Commander Erwin said. "The Scout Regiment has an important objective behind its activities, entrusted to us by the king. The purpose behind my speech to you today, when you are to choose which Regiment to join, is to invite you to the Scout Regiment. However, because of the titans' attack the other day, all of you here have already had a taste of what scouting outside the walls may be like. Despite the fact that you are still trainees, you have already suffered victims in your ranks, and that in itself is unprecedented. You have also felt the dread that titans instill in humans, as well as the limits of your own power. But still. We suffered many victims in the attack, yes, but at the same time, we've made progress, unseen before, toward humanity's victory against the titans. As you all have already guessed, I'm talking about Eren Jaeger. Thanks to his and your efforts, we've succeeded in preventing the advance of titans. And we've acquired a means to uncover titans' true nature. There's still little regarding him that I can tell you here, but I assure you he's on our side, risking his life for our common cause. We assume that the answers to the mysteries surrounding him will be found in the basement of his home in Shiganshina. If we manage to reach that basement, it's likely that we'll be able to find a way to put a stop to the century of living under titans' rule."

Trainees in the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

"However, in order to take our time and thoroughly investigate that one basement, we need to get Wall Maria back under our control first," Commander Erwin continued. "Our objective is what I just stated. But now that we can't use the Trost gate anymore, we only have the option of departing from Karanese and advancing to Shiganshina in a roundabout way. The path suitable for a large force that took us four years to break, is now lost. In those four years, over ninety percent of the Scout Regiment died. Ninety percent, in just four years. According to our most optimistic estimates, we'll have to sacrifice five times as many soldiers, and over twenty more years before we can dispatch a large force to Wall Maria again, and even then these figures aren't realistic."

"Rousing speech," Adam mumbled.

"The Scout Regiment is always in search of talented members," Commander Erwin said. "With great losses after every mission, we constantly suffer from personnel shortage. I'm not going to hide anything from you. Those of you who choose to join the Scout Regiment will have to participate in an expedition outside the walls one month from now. There's a pressing need to break a supply route. The probability of new recruits dying during expeditions to outer lands is fifty percent. Those who manage to survive it, though, will become excellent soldiers with high survival rates. Those of you who are still willing to put your life on the line, despite learning about the dreadful state of affairs, stay here. And let me reiterate this again, most of you who decide to join the Scout Regiment will most likely be dead soon. listen to your heart closely and ask yourself if you really have got what it takes to sacrifice your life for mankind. That's all. Those wishing to join other regiments, dismissed."

Adam swallowed hard. This was it. Moment of truth. Did he have the balls to throw his life away, or the brains to stay safe. He looked to his right, seeing Annie watching him carefully.

"What will you do?" Annie asked.

Adam sighed. He couldn't sacrifice himself for humanity. "I'm going to stay here."

Annie nodded. "Make sure you come back from that expedition."

Adam watched as she walked away before sighing, turning back to the stage and watching the crowd around him quickly thin out. Finally, there was barely a handful left, but everyone from Adam's group of friends, and everyone from the top ten, minus Annie, was present. He sighed. At least he wouldn't die alone.

"So, will you all be able to follow the order if you're told to go die, then?" Erwin asked.

"We don't want to die, sir," Adam said. "All of us are terrified. But...we don't want the people we care about to die either."

The others all nodded in agreement.

"I see," Erwin nodded. "You all look determined." He saluted. "Alright. I welcome everybody here to the Scout Regiment. I salute your bravery. Dedicate your lives to the cause."

"Yessir!" they all said, saluting back.

"The one hundred fourth Scout Regiment salutes all twenty two of you," Erwin said.

So then, eleven were expected to survive. If that.

"You endured the fear well," Erwin said. "I respect you for that, from the bottom of my heart."

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	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Preparing

Adam rolled aside as Jean slashed at him, regaining his feet in time to block his next strike. Then, he stepped forward,dropping his swords and catching Jean's wrist, slamming a palm strike into his chin and shoving him backward before pivoting and slamming a kick into the back of Jean's legs, sending him flipping into the air. As he crashed down on his shoulders, Adam grabbed one of his swords and spun, slamming it into Jean's side, making Jean shout in pain and earning him the match. He picked up the other sword before helping Jean up, only to turn to leave the sparring circle and receive Captain Levi's fist to his gut, his feet lifting off of the ground several inches before Levi allowed him to drop to the ground, catching himself on one hand, the other covering his mouth, struggling to not vomit.

"You dropped your swords," Levi said. "If Jean knew what he was doing, you'd have lost. If you can't perform the technique armed, it's a worthless technique."

Then, Levi turned, walking away. Adam took several more moments to get his gag reflex under control before standing and limping out of the sparring circle. He leaned against a tree as another pair of new recruits began to spar, but he wasn't paying attention to who. He was in too much pain for that. He hated Levi. Truly. Levi was the greatest warrior humanity possessed, and yet, Adam hated him. Truly. He was an emotionless prick. He was so obsessive about cleanliness that all of them had literally cleaned the castle until they bled their first day there. Then when he inspected it, he had failed them because he had brushed some loose pieces of wood off of the underside of a table and called it dust. Once they had cleaned all over again, he had taken them out to train for the first time, testing them himself, meaning that he brutally beat everyone to a pulp. Everyone. Even Mikasa had gotten beaten like a drum. Of course, once she had lost her temper, she was able to give him a hard time, so he had claimed she was the only one to pass. Then he had taken everyone on a "warm up" run for about ten miles through the woods. Then back.

Adam understood they needed to be in good shape, but this was excessive. They could barely stand for a week after that day, and it had just continued since. Eventually he had eased up on the runs and had stopped fighting them himself. However, any time someone did something he didn't like, they were treated with the same "discipline" as Adam had received for dropping his swords briefly. After a few more hours of combat training, some of the more senior members of the Scout Regiment led them on their run. Fortunately, Levi wasn't present so it wasn't a sprint, and was also very short. Once they got back, they all instantly did what they always did. Shower and start cleaning. Finally, hours later, and three failed inspections, they ate dinner. The recleaned.

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Adam passed off another box of field rations, gritting his teeth in annoyance. He shouldn't be surprised. Almost a month there and they were still being treated like recruits. They were doing all the work, receiving all the punishments, and having absolutely no free time. Even writing letters had been forbidden. He hadn't heard from Annie since they had chosen their Regiments. And now, Adam was having serious doubts.

He passed off another box, looking toward the massive stack they had to load. Preparing for an expedition, while he understood the importance, was a whole lot less fun than he expected. So far, they had cleaned everyone's boots and gear, sharpened everyone's blades, rerun everyone's cables, and now they were loading food provisions. Adam seriously hoped that the bitch work didn't continue into the expedition itself. Otherwise, he suspected he'd rather get eaten by a titan than stay a scout.

* * *

"You've all done well preparing," Erwin commended them. "Tomorrow, we leave to try and find a route to Shiganshina. So, tonight, you're all going to have time to yourselves. You may do whatever you want. Also, we have some mail for all of you. I apologize for it taking so long to get to you. We've been busy planning the expedition."

One of the more senior scouts walked in with a box of mail, setting it on the table. Adam raised a hand.

"Question, sir, are we allowed to go into town tonight?" Adam asked.

"No," Erwin said. "That's the one thing I cannot allow."

Adam's face fell but he nodded. He had suspected as much.

When there were no more questions, Erwin left the room with the other scout and Adam turned to the mail, beginning to separate it by name. Once he was finished, everyone took their letters, Adam sitting down off to the side with his only two. Both were from Annie. The first was dated just after they had chosen and in it, she wished him luck in the scouts and told him that he had better write often. She also said that she wanted to see him before they went on their expedition. He sighed, opening the second letter, which was dated a couple days ago.

"Hey Adam. So, I assume they're not letting you write any letters. And you probably didn't get my last letter either. I'm not sure why they're doing that, but I know you'd have written if you could. And you'd have come to see me by now if they'd let you. There's a few days left before the expedition. If by some miracle you get this in time, and they let you, I'd really like to see you before you go. And if I can't, you had better remember your promise. You had better come back to me alive. Life in the Military Police isn't bad. It's not quite all it's cracked up to be, but it's not bad. The worst part is guard duty. It's just hours of standing around for no reason. I'm sure it's nothing compared to whatever you're going through, I know, but that just goes to show you how unimportant my job is. I think I could probably not show up and no one would be any the wiser. Anyway, I really hope I get to see you before you go. And you had better come back alive. If you die, I'll never forgive you. Annie."

Adam tucked the letter back into its envelope and tucked it into an inside pocket of his coat, smiling ruefully. It was official. He hated the Scout Regiment. He regretted joining. He regretted not telling Annie everything before he had. He regretted being too stubborn to give Shadis what he wanted. Maybe if he had, he could be an MP alongside Annie now.

"You okay?" Christa asked, kneeling beside him. "You seem upset."

"This...isn't what I thought it'd be like," Adam said. "When I was young, in between expeditions, I'd see scouts out in town. I guess...I just thought..."

"That we wouldn't be prisoners, and that you could go see Annie?" Christa asked, Adam nodding.

"Honestly so did I," Christa said. "But whenever we get back from the expedition we can take time off, I'll bet."

"I don't think I _will_ be coming back from the expedition," Adam said. "I'm too afraid of titans to fight them myself, and when my body takes control, it's not...adaptable. It just...attacks. If we run into trouble and have to retreat...I don't think I'll be able to make myself. I'll die. And...we'll probably run into that kind of situation."

"Hey, you promised Annie you'd come back, right?" Christa asked.

"How did you-"

"We all knew what the two of you were talking about," Christa smiled. "You promised her you'd come back. So you will. So you don't have to be afraid."

Adam stared at her before sighing heavily. "I wish I had as much faith in myself as you have in me. Thank you Christa."

"You're welcome," Christa smiled.

She walked away and Adam pushed himself up, sighing. He wanted to be rested for the expedition, so he decided to go to bed early.

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	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Female

Adam stared to the right at the black smoke trail. It was the second one in a matter of minutes. And not only that, but it was from Armin's position. He was only a single spot to the side from Adam's position, and Adam knew he could go there and come back before anyone knew he had. He looked around, then steered toward Armin. So far, the expedition had been fine. They had left the wall and assumed the long distance scouting formation they had been taught, kind of like a big semicircle, and so far, the troops on the flanks had been able to spot most of the titans before they got too close, firing red smoke signals to tell the formation to change direction as they did, allowing them to avoid contact as much as possible. However, according to Armin's signal, two different abnormals had broken into the formation without any of the right flank seeing them. That wasn't good.

Adam crested a hill just as a fourteen meter titan female with no skin and blonde hair falling to her shoulder knelt down over Armin, who had fallen off of his horse, and lifted his hood, staring at his face for several seconds before standing and running away. Adam stared after her before pulling his own hood up. She was looking for someone. So she was intelligent. And he'd bet any amount of money that this titan was looking for Eren.

As Adam rode past Armin, he yanked him up into the saddle just as Reiner rode over with a spare horse. Armin switched horses, fumbling for a smoke signal to show an emergency, only for Jean to ride up behind them, firing one. At the same time, multiple fired from off to the right.

"The right flank's..." Armin trailed off.

"Gone," Adam said. "We can't continue the operation without it. If we try, we'll all be wiped out."

"He's right," Jean said.

"Armin," Adam said, "That titan just now, she's intelligent right? She's looking for someone."

"Yes," Armin agreed. "It's probably Eren."

"Right," Adam nodded. "So for the sake of the formation, we need to keep her busy. Everyone put your hoods up. She stopped to check Armin, then let him live, so we have to assume that she won't kill us at least until after she checks our faces."

The others nodded, pulling their hoods up and spurring their horses forward.

"If she's looking for Eren, she's going the wrong way," Reiner said. "Wasn't Levi Squad supposed to be in charge of the right flank?"

"Did you say the right?" Jean asked. "The diagram I had had them at the back of the left flank."

"Mine had them leading the charge," Adam said.

"Misinformation?" Armin said. "So then, his position is supposed to be secret."

"So...where is he?" Reiner asked.

"Probably the safest part of the formation," Armin said. "If I remember right, that's the back of the formations center."

"We don't have time for this!" Jean said. "If the Commander orders a retreat, we might be able to avoid the titans on the right side, but if that titan is as dangerous as the Colossal and Armored Titans, then the signal might not make it to the commanding element before she reaches them."

"Then we should hurry," Adam said.

He sped ahead of the others, pushing his horse hard. Then, as he was passing her, she spun, grabbing at him. He flipped off of the horse and the titan grabbed it, flinging it and catching him in her free hand. He grunted, eyes wide in fear, waiting to be crushed. He didn't want to die. Not yet. Not like this. He had to see Annie one more time. The titan stared at him from above. Adam stared back. There was something off. The titan had stopped completely. she was simply standing there, staring at him. Fear gripped him. Maybe it wasn't Eren she was after. The titan blinked, eyes opening slightly wider than before and Adam felt his blood run cold. He knew those eyes. That icy shade of blue and the cold emotionless look in them. His eyes widened slowly before the titan knelt, setting him down and releasing him. Suddenly, Jean attached a cable to her side and she swung a backhand at him, Jean managing to slip under it by sheer luck, the cable detaching and another hitting her opposite leg. She turned to grab him only to freeze as Armin began to shout.

"Jean, you gotta avenge him!" Armin shouted. "The guy who was in a hurry to die actually _did_ die fast on the right flank! Avenge him! She killed him!"

Jean managed to swing away from the titan safely grabbing Adam and getting a safe distance away before retracting his cable.

"She stepped on my best friend and crushed him!" Armin was shouting. "I saw him stuck on the sole of her foot!"

Suddenly, Reiner attached a cable to the back of the titan's neck, streaking toward her, only for her to catch him. Adam watched in silence. The titan pushed Reiner's head into her fist with her thumb and squeezed, blood squirting out between her fingers. Then, suddenly, her fingers flew off in a spray of blood as Reiner leapt to safety, both blades completely shattered. He attached a cable to her as he fell, swinging around and grabbing Armin, landing on his feet and sprinting away as Jean grabbed Adam's arm, beginning to pull him, only for Adam to push Jean's hand off. The titan stared at the hand Reiner had cut his way out of as it steamed and regenerated. Then, she lowered it, turning and walking away from them, breaking into a jog after a moment. Adam took off after her at a sprint.

"Where are you going!?" Jean shouted, but Adam ignored him.

She was heading directly toward Eren. But Adam wasn't thinking about that right now. Not really. Right now, he was thinking about the eyes. _Her_ eyes. He had to see them again. He had to know. To be sure. He swung himself onto Jean's horse as he was passing it, spurring it after the titan. However, after a couple of moments, green smoke signals shot into the air at an angle, indicating the direction the formation was changing, without turning around. They weren't retreating. But they had to have seen the emergency signal. Adam continued to ride and soon, found a group of four scouts who fired a black signal and moved to engage.

"No!" Adam shouted. "She'll kill you!"

Sure enough, as three moved to attack, she caught one by the cord and jumped, the two attached to her feet going with her. She landed on one and then kicked the other as they were passing a building, crushing them. The one whose cord she had she began to spin like a weighted stone, the momentum snapping the scout's back like a twig. Then, finally, she released him, letting him go flying away from her. The other shouted in fear, turning his horse to retreat, only for her to punt him and his horse, killing both and sending them sailing through the air. Adam swore as another, larger group began to close in to fight her. Adam tried to wave them away, but the only one to see him flipped him off and shouted that he was a coward. Then, the entire group charged. And died.

"Please stop!" Adam shouted. "Please don't kill anyone else!"

The titan completely ignored him, continuing on its run. Adam squeezed his eyes shut, the horse obediently following the titan. After a moment, he opened his eyes as a forest came into view. He grit his teeth, watching the central file go in, but everyone else splitting around it. The titan charged straight toward the path through the center of the forest, several scouts moving to stop her, only to die rapidly. As she slapped the last into the ground, she screamed, the sound echoing far and wide, alerting everyone for at least a mile around that there was trouble.

Then, the titan charged into the trees, Adam following on his horse. He'd probably be charged with treason for not attacking her later. However, for now, he needed to know. Suddenly, she spun, stomping in front of Adam, Adam taking to the trees with his ODM gear as his horse was thrown, its leg breaking, the horse screaming even louder and more disturbingly than the scout before had. The titan looked at him for a moment as he hung on the side of a tree, and in that moment, he knew. He was certain of it. But it was impossible. It had to be a lie. A bad dream.

Then, the titan turned, continuing on her run. As she did, Adam dropped to the horse, putting it out of its misery. Then, he turned, following the titan with his ODM gear, careful to use as little gas as possible. As he caught back up, several more scouts moved to fight her, streaking past Adam. Adam grit his teeth. They couldn't win. But he didn't know what to do. Did he stop her? Or did he continue to follow her uselessly, probably get charged with treason, and inevitably accomplish nothing? Either way she would survive. And either way, _he_ wouldn't.

The titan swatted one scout aside, the other avoiding her swipe at him. Adam attached a cable to a tree ahead of her and shot forward. As he was passing her, she caught the other scout's cable, spinning him. His neck hit Adam's cable, decapitating the scout so quickly that it didn't even leave blood on the cable. Adam retracted the cable, spinning as he began to fall, landing on the titan's face.

"Adam!?" Eren's voice shouted. "What are you doing!?"

Adam squeezed his eyes closed. "Please forgive me!"

Then, he drew a sword, slashing her forehead shallowly, just enough for her scalding blood to run into her eyes, blinding her momentarily, Adam leaping off and retreating into the trees. The titan paused, wiping her eyes before her forehead sealed back up and she took off after Eren and the others again. Adam followed, trying to keep up without running out of gas.

"Eren, I can't tell you what's right," Adam caught Levi saying. "You can only make a choice and hope that you won't regret it. Will you put your faith in your own strength, or in the Scout Regiment as a whole, including myself?"

Eren looked back and forth between Levi and the titan, hand held in front of his mouth, ready to bite himself to transform.

"Eren, please, have faith!" the female on Levi's team, Petra, pleaded.

Adam liked Petra. She was skilled, kind, and fair, usually. And she was unusually loyal to Levi. Adam was pretty sure that her and Levi were unofficially together, but he'd never be caught dead saying it, lest he incur Levi's wrath.

"You're taking too long!" Levi shouted. "Make your damn choice!"

"I'll continue to follow you!" Eren shouted.

Adam began to pass the titan again only for her to reach up, catching him then continuing to run, holding her hand still, not crushing him or throwing him, or slamming him into a tree. Just keeping him from blinding her again.

"Let me go!" Adam said. "Let me go! I have to get back! I promised!"

He saw the titan's eyes flick down at him before she lightly tossed him over her shoulder. He flipped, catching himself with ODM gear and shot forward again. However, before he could reach her again, she reached Eren only to stop, several carts that were tipped over to reveal barrels filled with harpoons around her.

"Fire!" Erwin's voice shouted.

Instantly, the titan clapped her hands both over her weak point just seconds before over a hundred harpoons with cables attached drilled into her, the cables pulling tight, holding her completely immobile. Adam stared at her before switching to ODM gear, continuing around to get in front of her, hidden in the trees as he watched what was happening. Another barren in a tree off to either side went off, multiple large metal spikes driving themselves through her knees, locking them in a half-crouch. He looked up to her eyes, seeing them watching him, even at the distance he was from her. He knew she was watching him. Suddenly, Levi and another senior member of the Scout Regiment, Mike, fell at the titan's hands from above, spinning and slashing, only for her hands to suddenly be covered in hardened, crystal-like skin. The sword shattered against them instantly. Mike leapt away, but Levi landed on top of the Titan's head.

"Why don't you just get out of there already?" Levi asked. "We have better things to do than this, you know. You've cause us a lot of trouble, you know that? You've killed a lot of my subordinates in a lot of different ways. Was it fun?" He knelt down. "Oh yeah, there was something I wanted to ask you. If you lose your arms and legs, you'll be okay, right? I mean, you can just regrow them? Your _real_ arms and legs, I mean. Cause, you dying on us just won't do."

Then, the titan screamed.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Escaped

"Why don't you just get out of there already?" Levi asked. "We have better things to do than this, you know. You've cause us a lot of trouble, you know that? You've killed a lot of my subordinates in a lot of different ways. Was it fun?" He knelt down. "Oh yeah, there was something I wanted to ask you. If you lose your arms and legs, you'll be okay, right? I mean, you can just regrow them? Your _real_ arms and legs, I mean. Cause, you dying on us just won't do."

Then, the titan screamed. Adam clapped his hands over his ears, everyone around the titan having a similar reaction. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then, Mike swung up to Erwin, a serious expression on his face. Suddenly, three titans came charging out of the trees to the right. Several Scouts moved to engage them but the titans ignored them completely. Levi went next, killing the two fourteen meter titans, only for the five meter one to reach the titan, biting a chunk out of her. A moment later, titans were swarming toward her from every side. The scouts moved to stop them, only for more and more to flood inward.

Adam watched the blood fest in silence. She was smart. The scouts were able to safely kill the titans due to them not paying the scouts any mind, even as they died, but they were also too distracted by the sea of titans literally ripping the female titan apart to see what Adam did. Someone in a green Scout Regiment cloak shot away from the swarm while everyone was distracted, shooting off toward Eren. Adam swore, turning and following them, leaving the sea of titans to Levi and the others. As he did, the retreat was signaled, but he ignored it. They were approaching Levi's squad fast, and the person in the green cloak was pulling away from him. They'd likely run out of gas before long, if they had to worry about that.

He grit his teeth. He had to be wrong. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't. It was someone else. Anyone else. It had to be. The person raised their hand, firing a smoke signal into the air. After a moment, another shot into the air from where Levi's team was supposed to be. Adam's heart sank. They thought it was Levi. So that was the plan. A pretty good one, too. Suddenly, Levi's team came into view. The person Adam was after shot on ahead, speeding away from Adam rapidly as they closed in on the team. The one in front, if Adam could remember right, was named Gunther. He had black hair combed backward into a single spike and a wide nose.

"Captain Levi?" Gunther asked, not seeing Adam yet.

Then, the person Adam was after shot past Gunther, swords taking a massive chunk out o the back of his neck like a titan, almost taking half his neck off, killing him instantly and dropping him to the ground. The rest of the team shouted in fear and dismay, speeding up, continuing to flee toward everyone else. Petra shouted for their attacker to show themselves, but instead, they simply transformed into the Female Titan again, charging after them.

"I've had enough!" Eren shouted. "This time, I'm going to fight her!"

"No you won't!" Eld, the blonde second in command of Levi Squad, shouted. "The three of us will deal with her! You go on ahead as fast as you can to the commander!"

Adam swung around, chasing after the titan from behind, but she was at a dead sprint now. As he chased her, very slowly gaining, the three senior scouts continued to argue with Eren about whether or not he should fight. One of them, the only one that Adam hadn't met, accused Eren of not believing in them.

"Is that true Eren?" Petra asked. "You don't believe in us?"

"Don't let them fight alone!" Adam shouted, but his voice didn't cary past the Female Titan's deafening footfalls.

"I believe in my squad's victory!" Eren shouted, turning to flee. "Good luck!"

Eld reached her first, making her attack him only to use his gas to escape her attack, Petra and the other charging in and slashing her eyes out, both spotting Adam, desperately trying to catch up.

"Guard Eren!" Petra shouted, recognizing him from when he had slowed her down before.

The female titan crashed into a tree, covering her weak point again.

"We took her eyes out!" Eld said. "We have one minute!"

"That's all we need!" Petra shouted.

"To hell with capturing her alive!" the other shouted. "I'll kill this bitch here! I'm going to pay you back in full!"

They rapidly swung around the Female Titan, slashing the muscles that allowed her to lift her arms and they fell to her sides. Next, they targeted the muscles holding her head up. However, just as Eld shot toward her neck, a single eye finished regenerating and she jerked her head to the side, catching him with his teeth, killing him instantly before spitting him out. Petra screamed, fleeing. The Female Titan chased her. Adam opened his gas up fully, speeding forward, practically bending himself in half. He swung around a tree from the side, seeing what was going to happen ahead of time. Petra was looking back at the Female Titan, who was running after her. As a result, she was heading directly for a tree, and was deaf to the other member of the team's cries to focus and calm down. If she didn't react, she'd be crushed between the titan's foot and the tree. Adam gunned it for all he was worth from the side, streaking forward to tackle Petra out of the way. He neared her. He wouldn't make it. They'd both be crushed. The titan's eye flicked to him, and instantly widened in surprise. He stared at them. It lasted only a millisecond, but this time there was no doubt. He knew. It wasn't someone else. It was her.

Then, as he braced himself to die, something even more unexpected happened. She yanked her foot to the side to avoid him, the foot crashing down wrong and skidding sideways,wrenching the titan's hip out of socket and allowing Adam to catch Petra and shoot sideways just before the titan crashed into the tree and stopped, lying on her stomach. Then, Adam's gas ran out.

"Shit!" Adam swore. "Hang on!"

Petra did exactly that, clinging to him as they crashed to the ground, bounding hard and being thrown apart before rolling to a stop. Adam groaned, pushing himself up as the last member shot down to finish off the titan. Fear gripped him. She couldn't die. Not yet. Not like this. He needed to see her. Needed her to explain. To tell him the truth.

Then, the skin over her weak point hardened and the member's blades shattered against it.

"Eren, do it now!" Adam shouted.

Eren leapt over her, biting his hand, but he was too late. She flipped, slamming a kick into the other member of Levi Squad and killing him instantly. Then, Eren crashed down on her as a titan, drilling a punch at her face. However, Adam knew how this would work out. She yanked her head to the right, contorting her body until she was out of the way, avoiding the punch. He threw a punch with the other hand and she again avoided it. He roared down at her, his hands regenerating rapidly, but she was healing too. She finished first. A moment later, she grabbed his left arm, trapping his foot with one of her legs as she twisted. Eren punched at her with the other arm but she put a foot against his abdomen and shoved, hurling him away. He crashed into a tree and roared, lunging and throwing an uppercut, then a haymaker. She avoided both, rolling away from him just as he followed. She stopped as he planted his foot. She regained her feet, taking a combat stance that Adam had memorized, and Eren went berserk, raining punches at her with no effect. Then, She hardened her left hand and ducked under a punch, drilling her own into his bottom jaw, removing it completely. As she did, he finally landed a blow of his own, drilling his fist into her lower abdomen, launching her away.

He roared, shooting forward and throwing a knee, only to hit nothing but the tree she had just been lying against. He turned toward her, intending to finish the fight, only to suddenly find the top half of his head removed by a windmill kick that also severed the tree beside him. His body slumped forward and she knelt, opening her mouth so wide the flesh where her cheeks would be ripped apart. Then, she bit the flesh covering Eren off, exposing him. Then, as Mikasa swung toward the two from the side, she ripped Eren out with her mouth, careful not to hurt him, and turned, running away.

"We have to...stop her!" Petra said, trying to stand despite having a broken leg.

"We can't," Adam said. "You're hurt and I'm out of gas."

"Take mine," Petra said, unclipping one of her tanks only for it to suddenly spin away with a loud angry hiss.

"They're broken," Adam said. "We can't do anything, Petra. Rest. Mikasa and Levi will handle it."

"He'll be killed!" Petra said.

"You don't have faith in him?" Adam asked.

"I asked Eren to have faith in all of us and look how that turned out!" Petra shouted.

"You're right," Adam said. "But Mikasa's good. She's like a second Levi. They can handle it."

Petra groaned miserably, sitting down against a tree, tears flooding down her face. "We don't really have any choice, do we?"

"No," Adam said. "We don't."

He looked over just as Levi shot past, nodding to him once before streaking off, passing Mikasa before tearing into the Female Titan. Within seconds, she fell against a tree, profile to them. He was fast. He was a blur the entire time he was shredding her. He shredded the muscles of the arm covering her weak point and Mikasa shot down to kill her, only for her to swat her other arm at Mikasa. Levi crashed into it hard, Adam able to see the pain on his face even from that distance. Then, he pushed off, tearing through her cheeks, severing the muscles and making her mouth fall open. Eren fell out and Levi caught him, retreating toward Adam and Petra. As he did, Adam stared at the Female Titan, watching tears run down her face. His heart broke as her head turned, allowing her to stare at him.

"Can you move?" Levi asked, landing beside him.

"Yes, but I'm out of gas," Adam said. "And Petra's got a broken leg and broken tanks."

"Mikasa, the body hanging by a cable over there, get his gas tanks," Levi said, gesturing.

Mikasa nodded, swinging away and Adam looked up at Levi.

"You're leg's broken, isn't it?" Adam asked. "It broke when you saved her."

Levi nodded, shifting slightly. He was standing on his good leg, holding Eren on that side, and yet was able to make it look like he wasn't favoring his leg, even though he was. Mikasa returned a moment later and handed Adam the tanks, Adam swapping them out and picking up Petra in a careful piggyback.

"Let's go," Levi said, turning and swinging away, the others following.

As they did, Adam looked back at the Female Titan one last time, gritting his teeth and turning back to the front as he saw her still watching him and crying.

* * *

Adam stood tall, head held high and a clam expression on his face, despite his fear. As he had expected, he was being tried for treason by the senior members of the Scout Regiment. He had left his place in formation. He had disobeyed orders, and he had done what he wanted. And for that, he was being tried.

"So you don't deny that you willingly left your place in the formation?" Levi asked.

"That's right," Adam said calmly.

"In the end, you ended up saving Petra," Levi said. "You have my thanks for that. And you helped to slow the Female Titan down before that, giving us the chance to get her to the trap, failed though it was. However, you disobeyed the order to remain outside the forest, and you left your place in the formation. For that, you will be punished."

"Why did you follow the Female Titan?" Erwin asked, staring at him with a calculating gaze.

He was smart. Adam could tell at a glance that he already knew the full answer.

"Intuition," Adam said. "There was something I had to know."

"And what's that?" Levi asked.

"Why the Female Titan had _her_ eyes," Adam said.

"It was a titan," Levi said, turning away, bored of the conversation suddenly. "They _do_ all tend to have eyes."

"That's not what I mean," Adam said.

"You recognized them?" Erwin asked.

"Yes," Adam nodded. "The Female Titan caught me. She could easily have killed me. But she didn't. She just stared at me. And I recognized her eyes. Then she set me down and left. And...I had to know why she had _her_ eyes. So I followed her. I tried to stop the scouts that attacked her, but I couldn't stop them attacking her, and she ignored me completely."

"Then you should have used that to take her down," Levi said.

"I...I couldn't," Adam said. "I...I couldn't force myself to attack her. I just...couldn't."

"What happened when you reached the forest?" Erwin asked.

She killed my horse, but when she again had the chance to kill me, she let me go, going after Eren instead. When I saw that she was getting too close, I cut her forehead to blind her momentarily. Then she ignored me and went after Eren again. When I tried to slow her down again, she caught me again. And...again she could have crushed me, but she just carried me for a few seconds before throwing me over her shoulder, enough to put me back a ways but not enough to kill me. So, I followed again. Except, you guys caught her. I swung around to where I was in front of her. I...I had to see her eyes again. I had to know I was right. But then she called the other titans. I thought she was dead for a moment, until I saw someone leaving the group in a Scout Regiment cloak with the hood up. I chased them, but before I could catch up, she killed Gunther. Then she transformed and Petra ordered me to guard Eren while they fought her. They blinded her and disabled her arms, but she focused on healing one eye and finished in time to kill Eld. Then, she went after Petra. I...I didn't want to watch anyone else die. So...I tried to save Petra. But, I wasn't fast enough. We were both going to be crushed. But then the Female Titan suddenly moved her foot to the side to avoid stepping on us and fell. When me and Petra landed, her gear was damaged and her leg was broken, and I ran out of gas. Then the female Titan killed..."

"Oruo," Petra said.

"Yeah, Oruo," Adam said. "She kicked him. Then Eren transformed and tried to fight her, but she was better than him, and she won. But when she took him, Mikasa went after her, then you, Captain Levi. And...you know what happened after that."

"Would someone else like to point out how suspicious it is that she had the chance to kill him, what, four, five times, and she let him live every time, or should I do it?" Levi asked.

"That _does_ raise several questions," Erwin said. "Adam. I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer it in all honesty. Who do you think the enemy is?"

Adam stared at him. He didn't want to say it. He couldn't. She wasn't the enemy. She had to have a reason. Right? But then, if she _wasn't_ the enemy, wouldn't that make the Scouts the enemy? Was there _even_ an enemy in this? He felt his eyes burn and water.

"I don't know," he finally said. "I just want things to go back to the way they were before. I just want to be able to keep my promise."

"I heard you yell something about a promise when the titan was carrying you, too," Levi said. "What promise?"

"I promised someone I care about that I'd come back to them alive from the expedition," Adam said.

The room was silent for several seconds.

"Adam," Erwin said seriously. "Who is the Female Titan?"

Adam stared at his feet, shoulders sinking as his chest constricted. He couldn't say it. They'd kill her. After everything, they'd decide she was too dangerous to be kept alive. They'd kill her. Or she'd defend herself, and she'd kill anyone they sent after her, except Levi. But then, he had a broken leg now. He couldn't fight.

"Answer the question you brat," Levi said. "Who the hell is it?"

"Adam, we're not going to kill her," Erwin said. "She had invaluable information that we need. We're going to capture her, and we're going to question her. But we're _not_ going to let her die. But we need your help. If you don't tell us, more people will die needlessly."

Adam grit his teeth, his tears beginning to fall finally. "It's Annie Leonhart."

Erwin nodded, eyes never leaving Adam. "Would you like to see her again?"

Adam stared at him incredulously. He couldn't be serious. He wanted _him_ to capture her? To betray her? She'd never forgive him. He'd never forgive himself.

"Armin already told us that the Female Titan was Annie," Levi said. "We needed to be sure you knew. And we needed to be sure you wouldn't try to protect her. Now, we're giving you a chance to prove that her not killing you was anything other than what it seemed."

"You think I'm a traitor," Adam said. "And that she didn't kill me because we're working together. So...you want me to help you catch her to prove my loyalty?"

"Your loyalty is up to you," Levi said. "You'll be punished either way. We'll just trust you a little more if you do it."

"Heed my words, Adam," Erwin said. "You don't have to help. We can trap her without you. However, whether you do it or not, you need to make a choice. Will you side with the one you love, or with the Scout Regiment?"

Adam was silent for a long while, struggling with his answer, and to not cry. "You promise you won't kill her?"

"You have my word," Erwin said.

"What do you need me to do?"

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Betrayal

Adam remained silent, struggling to lose the guilty, unpleasant atmosphere that was all but suffocating him. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He couldn't do this. And yet, he had to. He had to make sure Erwin kept his promise. But if he didn't, would he really be able to stop them? He'd have to fight all of them. Mikasa, Eren, Jean, Sasha. Maybe even Levi and Commander Erwin. Would he really be okay with that? With dying trying to fight his own friends?

Erwin's speech before they joined the Scout Regiment returned to him. He couldn't go die. Not for an order. Not for humanity. He couldn't sacrifice himself for humanity. But he _could_ do it for her. If it came down to it, and Erwin tried to have Annie killed, Adam knew that he would try to stop them, even if he had to fight them all to do it. And he would die, but he'd be okay with that, as long as it allowed Annie to live.

He looked up as Annie finally walked around the corner with Armin. She stopped, staring at him for several seconds before running forward, hugging him, Adam hugging her back, smiling, even as tears began to run out of his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked.

"I'm just glad I was able to keep my promise," Adam smiled.

Annie smiled, nodding, then looked to Mikasa and Eren.

"Let's go," she said. "We'll need to move quickly to keep you from getting executed, and you need to do whatever I say, the moment I say it. No questions, no hesitation."

They all nodded. She turned, walking away from them and they followed. She led them down a less-populated street and they all kept their heads down.

"I can't believe they just let it in without even checking on me," Eren said, referring to Jean, who was posing as Eren, being let through the gate without trouble.

"That's the Military Police for you," Adam said. "Present company excluded, none of them actually do their jobs."

"Don't make me sound better than I am," Annie said, smiling back at him. "I don't do my job either. Anyway, Armin, how were you guys going to get Eren out of here if I didn't agree to help?"

"First, I would have had Adam ask," Armin said. "And if you still refused, we were prepared to use our ODM gear to break though."

"Reckless," Annie said. "Why not organize this little escape attempt before reaching Stohess? You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble. Why does it have to be here and now?"

"I decided that we needed to make use of the complicated layout of this town for out plan of switching Eren with a double to succeed," Armin explained. "I thought that, instead of opposing the order head-on and escaping, we could buy more time to prepare Eren's escape if we obediently went along with it for a while, making them lower their guard."

"I see," Annie nodded. "Makes sense."

"Here it is," Armin said as they reached an underground passage.

It was deep, and relatively solid. Inside, Annie wouldn't be able to transform. At least, not without collapsing it on them all.

"Here?" Annie asked.

"Yes," Armin said. "We'll take this passage. Some ruins of the underground city planned long ago still remain. This tunnel connects to an exit closer to the outer gate."

"Really?" Eren asked. "Wow!"

"Taking an underground passage is much safer than taking the streets above," Armin said, he, Mikasa, and Eren all walking down the steps, Adam hesitating when he saw Annie wasn't going.

"Annie?" Eren asked. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're scared of dark confined spaces."

"Yes I am," Annie said. "I'm afraid. I'm not you. I'm not a brave reckless fool who's in a hurry to die."

"Annie," Adam said, taking her hand. "It's okay. I promise. It's not far. And I'll be right there."

"I'm sorry," Annie said. "I can't. If we're not going on the surface, I can't help you. I can't go in there. Not even for you, Adam."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Eren shouted. "Get down here now! Stop fucking around!"

"Eren, don't shout," Mikasa said.

"Why not, Mikasa?" Annie asked. "For some reason, the street's been empty for a while now."

"Annie, please," Adam pleaded. "Please trust me."

"I did trust you," Annie said. "I trusted you to come back to me alive, and you did. Armin, when did you start looking at me with those eyes?"

Adam turned, seeing the distrust and fear shining from Armin's eyes.

"Annie, why did you have Marco's ODM gear?" Armin asked. "Back when we had to turn in our gear for inspection."

Adam closed his eyes. That was it. There was no going back. He braced himself for the look he knew he'd see.

"I recognized it from the scratches and dents," Armin said. "He and I would do routine maintenance together, so I knew it was his."

"I just...found it," Annie said, staring down the street, away from Adam.

"The one who killed those two titans the Scout Regiment captured, that was you, wasn't it Annie?" Armin asked.

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't," Annie said. "If you came to these conclusions a month ago, why didn't you take action then?"

"I still can't believe it," Armin said. "Even now. I thought I made a mistake somewhere. I wanted to believe that. But...it's because you didn't kill me when you had the chance that things turned out the way they are now. And what's more, you have many chances to kill Adam, but you went out of your way to let him live, even getting injured for it once."

Annie turned, staring at Adam with a knowing, hurt look in her eyes, but her face otherwise emotionless. Adam felt his heart shatter in his chest.

"You're right," Annie said. "I was a fool. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I gave myself away."

"Annie, please," Adam pleaded. "Tell them you're not the enemy! Tell them you're not going to hurt anyone else! Please!"

"I'm sorry," Annie said, cupping his face. "I understand."

Then she kissed him. Adam felt the pieces of his heart crumble away into dust. As he kissed her, in the maybe three seconds that they stayed there, he could feel her hurt, and her sadness, and the pain of his own betrayal. Then, she pulled away.

"But I am," Annie said, shoving him.

Adam's eyes went wide as he fell down the stairs. Annie reached up to bite her hand, but was stopped by several men grabbing her arms. Armin caught Adam as Mikasa dragged them down the stairs. Adam watched as Annie flicked a small point concealed in her ring out, watching him with tears in her eyes. Then, as soon as they were around the corner, there was a flash of light and an explosion, blood splattering against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Adam sank to his knees instantly, resting his face in his hands. what had he done? He had wanted to protect her, and to keep people from being killed. Now, more people were dead, and she probably hated him. A hand suddenly grabbed the back of his coat, yanking him away from the corner just as Annie's massive titan hand reached down, groping around for them.

"Get up Adam!" Mikasa shouted, all of them just out of reach. "We need to move! We'll have to go with Plan B!"

"No!" Adam pleaded. "Please! You can't!"

"We don't have a choice!" Mikasa said, all of them following the tunnel.

Finally, a scout stepped out of a side tunnel.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What happened? Did Plan A fail!?"

"It failed!" Armin shouted. "Please start Plan B!"

Then, the roof above the scout exploded downward, burying him in rubble as Annie pulled her foot back.

"We have to help him!" Eren shouted, Mikasa holding him back.

"Do you want to die!?" Mikasa demanded.

"She took a gamble," Armin said. "She's really desperate to capture Eren."

"Annie, please, just stop," Adam said miserably, falling to his knees again. "Why won't you let me save you?"

"I'll take care of it," Eren said. "Just like I stopped that cannonball." He bit himself, blood spraying out, but nothing happened. "What? No! Not now!" He bit himself again and again. "At a time like this!? Dammit! This hurts!"

"You can't become a titan if your goal isn't concrete, right?" Armin asked. "Try focusing harder.

"I am!" Eren said.

"Are you sure you're not hesitating to fight Annie again?" Mikasa asked coldly.

"Eren?" Armin asked.

"Don't tell me that you're thinking it was just your imagination that she's the Female Titan," Mikasa said. "You just saw her with your own eyes, didn't you? She's the one who killed your team members, remember? You still think it wasn't really her?"

"I...I'm trying!" Eren said. "But it won't work!"

"Please don't kill her," Adam pleaded, staring at Mikasa who stared right back. "Please. She's...she's not...She's just...she has a reason. She has to."

"I'm going to do whatever I have to to ensure she won't hurt Eren," Mikasa said.

"I've got a plan," Armin said. "Mikasa and I will each go out the hole and the entrance at the same time. That way, she'll have to choose one of us. Once we do, Eren, I need you to-"

Adam stood, sending a cable up through the hole into Annie's cheek, launching himself up, She reached for the cable but stopped when she saw it was him. He landed in front of her eye, tears running down her face.

"Please Annie!" Adam said. "You have to leave! They'll kill you if you stay! Please go!"

Annie reached up, closing her fingers around him and kneeling, setting him on the roof of a building off to the side. Just as she stood again, the ground at the hole exploded, Eren's titan form erupting out of it and slamming an uppercut into Annie's jaw, hurling her backward. She crashed down on a church that worshiped the walls, crushing the people inside. However, after the dust had settled, she looked down, staring for a moment before standing and sprinting away. Adam watched as Mikasa chased her. He had to stop Mikasa. She'd kill Annie. He leapt into the air, taking off after them with his ODM gear, only to have to land as Eren charged past. Within seconds, he caught up with Annie just as Annie reached a small park where there were no buildings.

She spun, kicking his right leg and taking it off, but he simply jumped with the other, slamming a superman punch into the hand she protected her head with. She withstood the blow, slamming a kick into his head as he landed, slamming him into a building on the edge of the park. However, Eren had caught her leg in his mouth. Several Scouts shot toward her but she chopped Eren in the head, breaking free and sprinting away from him, toward the wall again. Adam grit his teeth. he couldn't catch up. Erwin had had his ODM gear's gas flow restricted, leaving him less than half as fast as anyone else, barely enough to move.

He watched as Annie reached the wall as he had to land in the park, sprinting across it as fast as he could. Annie crystalized her fingers, beginning to climb the wall with them, getting about three fourths of the way there before Mikasa reached her, removing the fingers on one hand. As her arm fell, Annie twisted slightly, spotting him as he took off again, eyes never leaving her. Then, Mikasa took the fingers off her other hand, landing on Annie's face to help tilt her backward, making her fall. As she crashed down, Eren thundered past Adam, pinning Annie down instantly. Then, he bit into the back of her neck, ripping the chunk free and exposing Annie, tears running down Annie's face.

As soon as he had, several scouts landed on Annie's back, swords drawn, only for Adam to land in front of them, between them and Annie, arms out to the side and tears running down his face.

"Stop!" Adam shouted. "You can't kill her! Erwin gave me his word!"

He glanced back, seeing Annie staring at him in shock, but the scouts weren't listening. Mike stepped forward, holding a sword to Adam's throat.

"Get out of the way," Mike ordered. "Or else you'll be tried for treason."

"I won't let you kill her!" Adam said. "You can't! Please!"

"Move, now!" Mike shouted.

Then, light began to explode off of Annie, Adam spinning and staggering back, the others all doing the same. As they watched, crystal began to grow from below Annie, who closed her eyes as it began to cover her. Then, eight spots beside Adam began to crystalize and grow upward to. He stared in shock as the growths took shape, then fell to the ground, landing in a pile. They were blades. Eight of them. A complete set. He turned, staring at Annie as the crystal passed her shoulders.

"You remembered," Adam breathed.

Then, the crystal finished covering her and he grit his teeth, stumbling forward and falling to his knees, resting his hands against it.

"Annie," Adam said. "Please. Don't do this! Please! Come back! I can still save you! Please!"

"Get him out of here!" Mike growled.

"He's fine," Levi said, making his way over with a pair of crutches. "Orders from Erwin. Adam's not to be punished for his actions, either during the expedition or for defending her now."

Adam stared at him before turning back to Annie. "Please. Wake up."

"Someone secure that crystal and get it underground somewhere," Hange, the Scout Regiment's head titan researcher, said. "Adam, I think these belong to you."

She held out the blades Annie had formed and Adam slid off of Annie's titan body, taking the blades and swapping them out for his metal ones. Then, he turned back to watch as Annie's crystal was bound in wire.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Struggling

Adam stared up at the hole in the wall, and the gigantic titan face partially exposed within. However, within a few more moments, a tarp was lifted up into the way, blocking the sunlight. He tried to tear his eyes away, but he couldn't. The thought of a Colossal Titan living _inside_ the wall, literally, was terrifying. But what was worse was that, if there was one titan, there could be countless more inside of the wall. And maybe not just that wall, either. There could be titans in all of them. Millions of titans. Probably more.

"Is this really happening?" Armin asked. "There's a fucking titan in the wall?"

"Who said it was alone?" Adam asked. "Maybe the entire wall is made up of titans with stone built around them. There'd be millions. At least."

"Hey now, don't say stuff like that," Armin said. "It's bad enough thinking titans will kill us when we leave the walls. If there really are that many titans, and any of them see the sun enough to wake up, they'll break free, and then the rest will."

"They'd obliterate the human race in hours," Adam nodded. "And to think, that cult that worships the walls knows about them."

"That's just fucked," Armin breathed. "Speaking of things that are fucked. Are you going to be okay?"

Adam stared at the ground in silence. He wouldn't. But he couldn't tell them that. He nodded and rested a hand on the blades she had given him.

"I'm going to free her," Adam said. "I...I can't leave her in there. I...I need her."

"I'm sorry," Armin said. "I don't think I'll ever be able to imagine."

"I hope you don't," Adam said. "The last thing I did to her before she put herself in the crystal was to betray her, and she forgave me. How am I supposed to live with that?"

"I don't know," Armin said. "I really don't."

Adam nodded and sighed. "I have to talk to Erwin."

Armin nodded and Adam turned, walking over to where Erwin and Levi were discussing their next move.

"Commander, Captain, there's something I have to tell you," Adam said. "Something that just occurred to me while we were trying to lure Annie into the tunnel."

"What's that?" Erwin asked.

"I think Reiner and Bertholdt are the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan," Adam said, both men staring at him in shock.

"How can you say that with a straight face?" Levi asked. "What's your evidence?"

"For one thing, before Annie began to head directly for Eren's actual position in the formation, she caught Reiner and almost killed him, only for him to cut himself free," Adam said. "I think when he did, he carved Eren's position into her hand when he was hidden from view. He knew it because Armin had just figured it out and told us."

"That's _is_ suspicious," Erwin nodded.

"That's not all," Adam said. "Back when Trost was attacked, one of our friends, Marco, was killed by a titan. Annie and I had heard Marco screaming, and were going to investigate, but I was delayed by a titan and Annie went on ahead. When I arrived, Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt were just standing there, watching Marco be eaten. Then after the Scout Regiment's two titans were killed, Annie presented Marco's ODM gear for inspection."

"So, you're saying that Reiner and Bertholdt were feeding Marco to a titan, and that's why he was screaming?" Levi asked. "And because Annie was working with them, she didn't stop them?"

"Yeah," Adam nodded.

"Why would they do that?" Levi asked.

"I think Reiner and Bertholdt were talking about their opinion of Eren plugging the hole one of them had just made, and Marco overheard," Adam said. "Marco was always smart, so he probably figured out what they were saying, so they fed him to a titan so he couldn't tell anyone."

Erwin and Levi stared at each other before turning back to him.

"Be careful in the near future, Adam," Erwin said. "If you're right, and they find out you know, they'll kill you."

"I will, sir," Adam nodded.

He began to leave before hesitating. However, he thought better of asking a question he knew the answer to, and continued.

"Ask," Erwin said.

He stopped, turning back around and sighing. "Sir, if Annie ever wakes up, what will happen to her?"

"She'll most likely be interrogated, tortured, and eventually executed," Levi said.

"Would it ever be possible...for her to be released?" Adam asked.

"No," Levi said.

"I understand how you feel," Erwin said. "Maybe not the specific circumstances, but I understand that you're in love with her, and that you don't want her to die. But she is an enemy of humanity. Exceptions cannot be made. If she ever wakes up, her execution or imprisonment depends on her willingness to tell us what we want to know."

Adam sighed, nodding. "Understood, sir."

He turned, walking away. There was no hope. That was all they had told him. Even if he could wake her up. So long as she stayed in the walls, she'd be killed. He stopped when he reached the others, noticing that Mike and most of his friends were gone.

"They were sent to get a fort to the south ready for us," Armin said, guessing what he was thinking.

Adam nodded. Then, he settled in to await orders.

* * *

Adam swore loudly. Today was turning out to be a very, very bad day. First Annie, now word had come that the wall to the south had somehow miraculously been breached and titans were swarming in. The friends that were at the base to the south had probably had to leave to evacuate villages, and were likely being chased by titans. And as if that weren't bad enough, Pastor Nick, the jackass cult member from Eren's trial, who knew all about the walls and the titans within but who refused to tell them anything, had admitted that the only person allowed to talk about the walls' secrets, but who likely knew nothing about them, was Christa, who was living under a fake identity. He wouldn't say why her, or who she really was, but at the moment she was in danger.

While they had been traveling earlier, Armin and Hange had had the idea to have Eren try and learn to harden his skin like Annie could, since the hardened pieces of skin Annie had lost, like her fingers and the crystal she was in, hadn't burned away like normal, and its structure also matched that of the walls, meaning that the Colossal Titans had used the same ability to initially form the walls, meaning that there were, indeed, millions of them in the walls. Now, they, meaning he, Eren, Mikasa, Hange, and Armin, were heading south to try and find the breach in the wall so Eren could try and fix it.

"To the south there's a castle where we should be able to observe the wall," Hange said. "We'll head there and wait for the sun to rise. "We're heading for Castle Utgard!"

"Right," the others nodded.

They rode on in silence, everyone tense and expecting to be attacked at any moment. They had their swords drawn already, and Adam kept his eyes roving. As the time dragged onward, the sun finally began to rise. As it did, they saw the castle in the distance, a massive tower swarmed by titans. Then, as they watched, a speck fell from the top of one before being enveloped by an explosion, a titan falling out of it. It was only four or five meters, and had long black hair, but when it reached the titans, it bit one's weak point out instantly, then slashed another with its claws. Then, it killed that one too before retreating back up the tower a ways before repeating the action. Adam spurred his horse faster. Whoever was defending the tower, they couldn't win. Not against so many as a five meter.

"Another one!?" Eren shouted, he and Mikasa both keeping up with him. "Who is this one!?"

"I don't know!" Adam said. "But they're clearly defending whoever's in that tower!"

As they grew closer to the tower, the titan was captured, only to look up, a voice barely registering in Adam's ears, though he couldn't tell whose it was. Then, the titan broke free of the others, ripping at the tower until it began to fall before scrambling to the top. Adam saw several people grab onto its hair before it climbed onto the back of the toward as it partially collapsed, burying the titans. However, within moments, the titans began to dig themselves out. The small titan killed one before multiple broke free, one grabbing the smaller titan's leg and swinging her around, slamming her back down before the titans began to rip her apart. Adam could make out Christa now, running toward the titan. However, a larger one turned, reaching for her. Adam leapt up onto the saddle of his horse and leapt off, using his ODM gear's gas to launch himself forward, attaching a cable to the titan and streaking forward, killing it. Then, he flipped, slowing himself with gas before he hit the tower, attaching a cable to one of the titans below himself before streaking downward and around the circle, swords held out. When they tore into the titans, he felt no resistance, unlike with his metal blades. He didn't kill all of the titans, but he got several before he flipped, catching himself on the tower again. As he did, Mikasa tore into several of the titans. Then, Eren tore into one, killing it. He cheered and Adam shook his head, laughing and dropped off of the tower, not bothering with a cable since there was only one left anyway.

He landed on its shoulders, carving out its weak point, then dropped off beside the remains of the titan that had defended his friends and walked over to it. It was barely more than a head and torso anymore, but its eyes looked over at him and he smirked. It was Ymir. That explained why Christa tried to run to its defense. He grunted in effort, lifting Ymir's titan body on one side, struggling to roll it over, Eren and Mikasa landing beside him a moment later and helping. Then, Adam climbed up top, cutting a very, very large chunk out of the titan body's back, pulling it out and setting it down, Ymir sitting up from under it, gasping for breath before beginning to fall, Christa catching her and setting her on the ground, cradling her head.

Adam turned, walking away and inspecting his blades, smiling. They hadn't dulled at all. He smiled as a tear rolled down his put the blades away and walked over to the others, staring at Reiner and Bertholdt for several moments before smiling.

"Looks like you guys had an interesting night," Adam said.

"Understatement," Connie said. "Dude, where'd you get those blades?"

Adam's smile fell and he rested a hand on them. "Annie. She...She was the Female Titan that fucked up our expedition. She made these with her crystal ability. I think...it was like a goodbye present."

"Where is she now?" Connie asked.

"I...don't know," Adam said. "She gave me the blades then...she just left."

Connie nodded.

"Annie was the Female Titan?" Reiner asked. "I can't...believe that."

"Yeah," Adam said. "You're telling me. I thought...I thought she actually cared, you know? I guess she just wanted a way to pass the time until she decided to attack us."

"That's not true," Sasha said. "Annie loves you. She was always helping you, and looking out for you. And she gave you those blades."

Adam stared at the ground. He hated having to lie to friends. And it seemed to be becoming a habit.

"So you really have no idea where she is?" Reiner asked.

"No," Adam said, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. "I wish I did. I wish things could just go back to how they were. I just wanted...I just wanted to be able to make her smile. Just once. For real."

Sasha stepped forward, hugging him and he rested his head against her shoulder, remaining silent.

"We're heading south to the wall!" Hange called out after a moment.

Adam stepped back, catching Reiner watching him silently, before turning and walking back to Hange as she was heading to their horses.

"Reiner and Bertholdt both know I know their secret," Adam said quietly. "They'll make a move soon."

"You're on hundred percent certain about them?" Hange asked.

"Yes," Adam said. "Completely."

Hange sighed. "Then I hope you're ready for the fight of your life."

"Not really," Adam said. "I'm still trying to decide if I should kill myself for betraying Annie or not."

"You really care about her, huh?" Hange asked. "You know, if she ever wakes up..."

"She'll be killed," Adam said. "I know. I don't...I don't know if I'll be able to stand by and watch that happen, honestly. No, I probably can't."

"Don't worry," Hange said. "I don't expect her to wake up soon."

Adam stared down at the ground and sighed. "Is it bad that I think it's probably better that way?"

"Not at all," Hange said. "Humans can't choose who they love. And wanting loved ones to stay alive is natural."

The others all reached them and they left, heading for the wall. Adam glanced at Reiner and Bertholdt, both of them watching him. One way or another, he doubted he'd make it through the day without having to confront them about the truth.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Showdown

Adam stood off to the side from the others, watching Reiner and Bertholdt carefully while they spoke with Eren. Bertholdt kept glancing at him, but while he did, Reiner seemed to be ignoring him. Adam wasn't sure what to make of that. Suddenly, a blonde Garrison Regiment soldier climbed up over the edge of the wall.

"There's no breach anywhere," the man said.

"Are you sure?" Hange asked.

"We've been searching the wall all night," the man said. "I can assure you that at the very least the stretch from Trost to Chlorba is intact. What's more, we haven't run into a single Titan."

"But we definitely met titans," Armin said.

"Are you sure you searched thoroughly, Hannes?" Eren asked. "Or is it possible you're still drunk as usual?"

"As if I'd drink at a time like this!" Hannes snapped. "Come to think of it, why are you guys even here?"

Everyone fell silent.

"Well, with no breach in the wall, we have no choice but to call the operation off," Hange said. "For now we'll be on standby in Trost District."

She glanced at Adam knowingly and Adam sighed. If they were in a major population center, Reiner and Bertholdt wouldn't be able to use their titan powers without exposing themselves. It didn't give him much of an edge, but it gave him a little. However, the questions of the titans getting in was still a problem. He stared at Eren and Ymir. Unless they were already in.

"Hange," Adam said, jogging over to her. "How do you think the titans got in?"

"Maybe a tunnel," Hange said. "Why?"

"I...might have a theory, but it's really crazy," Adam said.

"Let's hear it," Hange said.

"Well, Connie was telling me about a titan covered in fur, like a monkey, that he called the Beast Titan," Adam said. "He said it seemed like the titan was controlling the ones that attacked the castle. If that's true, that would make the Beast Titan intelligent. So...what if the person inside the Beast Titan had a way to transform humans into titans?"

Hange and the scouts walking with her all stopped, staring at him. "That would...explain a couple of things."

"It might also explain Eren, sort of," Adam said. "Connie said that his mother, who couldn't move, was missing from his village, like everyone, but that there was a titan lying on his house who also couldn't move, because its arms and legs were shriveled. That titan couldn't have gotten there on its own, and titans wouldn't carry one who was essentially useless around. So, it would have had to already be there somehow. Connie even said it looked like his mom."

"That _would_ explain that titan," Hange nodded. "And how there's no breach. But what about Eren?"

"Well, what if Eren was turned into a titan at one time too, but doesn't remember it," Adam said. "I don't know how he turned back into a human and gained the power to transform at will, but if there were a way to turn someone into a titan, maybe Eren accidentally found a way to turn back. Ymir too."

"And Reiner and Bertholdt, if you're right about them," Hange said.

"I am," Adam said, glancing back where the two were talking to Eren alone again.

Just as he did, Reiner pulled his sling off, Adam catching Hange's arm and turning her. Reiner pulled the bandages off of his arm, steam pouring out, revealing his healing arm. Everyone stared.

"Jesus," Hange breathed. "It's true."

"We're screwed," Adam breathed. "Eren can't fight them both, especially if Bertholdt turns."

Then, just as Reiner stepped toward Eren, Mikasa stepped past Eren, one of her swords removing Reiner's right hand and splitting his left halfway up the forearm, getting stuck in his cheek bone. Then, Mikasa released that blade, leaving it where it was as she drove her other at Bertholdt, managing to halfway sever his left wrist and cut into the side of his neck, hitting his jugular, Bertholdt shouting in fear and holding a hand to it. Then, as she drew another blade, she leapt at Bertholdt, only for both titans to transform, the resulting blast hurling everyone, except Eren, who Reiner caught. Bertholdt had only formed half of his body, however, and Adam pushed himself up, sprinting at Bertholdt. He was ending this. No colossal titan, no reinforcements for Reiner while he fought Eren.

As he ran forward, Bertholdt grabbed Ymir. He attached a cable instantly, swinging up to his wrist and spinning, his blades slicing off Bertholdt's hand instantly before he flipped, attaching on to the ground and returning, catching Ymir and sprinting away from Bertholdt. Bertholdt reached for him but Mikasa swung past, catching him and pulling both him and Ymir away from Bertholdt before detaching her cable from Bertholdt's back.

"Thanks," Adam said, setting Ymir down and turning back to Bertholdt. "Now let's kill this-"

He was cut off by another explosion as Eren transformed, slamming a punch into Reiner's face, blasting him into the wall and dropping the rest of the way to the ground, Reiner crashing down a moment later. Adam turned back to Bertholdt, gritting his teeth. One blow. That's all it would take. He attached his cables to the back of Bertholdt's neck and shot forward. However, before he could get there, Bertholdt began to shoot steam off of his back, Adam's forward progress instantly halting. He grit his teeth. It was scalding hot. He could feel himself burning. He grit his teeth. He was finishing this. All he had to do was reach Bertholdt. He opened his gas all the way. He'd have about five seconds.

 _One._

He slowly creeped forward, the heat getting worse the closer he got.

 _Two._

He screamed as his skin began to blister.

 _Three._

So close now he couldn't open his eyes more than a crack, and that only for a second. But he could make out Bertholdt's skin now.

 _Four_ _._

He was close. He could attack now. Just in time. He pulled his arms back, but before he could slash, he felt a sudden jerk of his cable and was suddenly flying through the air, the heat vanishing after a moment. He retracted the cable fully and swore. It had broken free, and now he was out of gas and a hundred feet up. He braced himself for death, only for Hange to catch him, landing heavily on the wall and setting him down.

"You okay?" Hange asked.

"Yeah," Adam said through gritted teeth. "Just a few burns."

"Those look pretty nasty," Hange said.

"It's fine," Adam said. "How's Eren doing?"

"He's getting destroyed," Hange said, both looking over the edge of wall where Reiner was absolutely demolishing Eren.

His armor was leaving Eren's strikes completely useless, while his own were devastating.

"I assume blades can't get through his armor," Adam said.

"Yours might," Hange said, handing him new gas tanks, which he attached instantly. "Maybe Annie gave them to you to deal with Reiner."

Adam stared at them, then down at Reiner. She was right. He might be able to do it. But not unless Eren could hold Reiner still. Reiner was too skilled and too smart to let Adam anywhere near him with his crystal blades. Then, as both moved to punch each other again, Eren slipped under Reiner's arm, catching him in a side choke and flipping him, smashing him to the ground and mounting him. Then, Reiner flipped him off, getting on top of Eren, only for Eren to catch his arm and twist it outward, wrapping his legs around Reiner and squeezing. Suddenly, Reiner's armor cracked. Adam's mouth fell open as he watched. Reiner pulled one of Eren's legs away with his free hand and Eren flipped them, getting on Reiner's back and trapping Reiner's right arm before breaking it completely off at the elbow.

"Woo!" Adam cheered. "Go Eren! Fuck 'im up!"

Eren stood, retreating back to the wall as Reiner stood, walking after him. Adam sighed, raising his blades. He was about to have his chance. Time to see if his blades were really as good as he believed. Then, Reiner charged at Eren to tackle him as Eren adopted a combat stance. Reiner plowed him into the wall sideways and punched at him, but Eren avoided it, wrapping his arms around Reiner's leg and falling to the ground.

"Don't go to the ground Eren!" Armin shouted. "Get up!"

"Hey, do you want to try wrestling the Armored Titan?" Adam called out as Eren pushed Reiner away and regained his feet. "Then shut up and let Eren beat the shit out of him. Eren scored high on hand-to-hand combat, remember?"

Reiner tackled Eren again and Eren caught his neck, crashing to the ground before wrapping his legs around Reiner's waist and wrenching on his neck, the armor at the back of Reiner's neck beginning to crack.

"Now!" Adam said, leaping off the wall.

He attached a cable to the back of Reiner's neck and shot down at him, pulling his swords back. Then, as he reached Reiner, he slashed. His sword met the armor with a loud screech, but cut through with only slightly more resistance than a normal sword would a titan's skin. After a moment, Adam had carved out a massive gap in the armor, exposing the weak point. All he had to do was take a nice big chunk out of Reiner now.

"Adam, MOVE! ! !" Sasha's voice shrieked.

Adam felt his body react of its own for the first time since Trost. Within the span of time it took him to realize he had even reacted, he was swinging away from Reiner. A half second later, Bertholdt's titan form crashed down on Reiner and Eren, exploding into a massive blast of dust, debris, and steam, hurling Adam and several other people into the air. Adam flipped, swinging down to the wall and landing in a roll before stopping, groaning before checking his blades. They were just as sharp as ever. He stared at them for a moment before smiling. Annie's last gift was even better than he had hoped. He froze as that thought repeated through his head. He grit his teeth. No. It wouldn't be her last gift. Well, maybe her last gift, but not because she was going to die. And she wasn't staying comatose. Metal may not be able to chip the crystal, but he was sure he knew something that could.

He looked back at the wall, seeing steam still exploding up from below. It seemed that his body had managed to make him the only person not really effected. He walked to the edge, looking at the base of the steam as the Armored Titan ran out of it, Bertholdt on his shoulder and blood running down the titan's chin. Adam returned his gaze to the base of the steam and saw Eren's titan body lying on the ground, the nape of its neck bitten out. He trailed his gaze up the wall, seeing some of the more senior scouts, including Hange, hanging from their cables against the wall, and Mikasa as well. Adam walked over, holding his hand into the steam and pulling it back. It was cool enough. He stuck a cable into the wall and let it out as he rappelled down the side of the wall, stopping beside Hange and Mikasa, grabbing both and carrying them both back up to the top, several other scouts copying him and grabbing the rest of the bodies.

They were all laid on top of the wall and their wounds were quickly tended to, Armin sitting beside Mikasa. As they did, Adam looked after Eren, then back toward the others. There weren't enough to go after them, and none that could outrun a titan. With their horses stuck on the wrong side of the wall, all they could do was wait.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Retrieval

Adam swung his leg over the horse and looked back to the top of the wall. Out of all of those who had been present, only the wounded and Christa were staying. Everyone else was going to retrieve Eren. He rested a hand on his blades. He had to be careful not to break any. After all. He'd need all of them. Maybe more.

"Let's go!" Erwin shouted, everyone spurring their horses into motion. As they rode, Adam glanced to the side at Mikasa.

She looked calm and determined now, but when she had first woken up, she had been in tears that Eren was captured. Adam sighed. Eventually, his desire to help everyone he could would get him into trouble.

"Mikasa," Adam said. "Once you save Eren, you should tell him how you really feel."

She glanced at him before turning back to the front. "I don't know what you're talking about. He's just family."

He sighed, shaking his head. He had tried. He looked ahead, seeing the tiny speck of the forest they were heading for ahead of them. Bertholdt and Reiner would be too tired to fight their way through the amount of titans they'd have to in order to escape Wall Maria, let alone wherever they were headed after that. So, Hange had surmized that they would stop in the forest to rest.

"Adam!" Erwin shouted from ahead of him. "Since your blades are the only ones capable of cutting trough the Armored Titan's skin, I'm leaving the killing blow up to you. Only if you have the chance to do so at minimal risk."

"Yes sir!" Adam said. "I'll do my best."

Erwin nodded and turned back to the front, everyone falling silent again. They began to near the forest, Adam seeing titans around one of the trees near the edge. As they neared the trees, the titans moved to stop them. Adam drew his swords and jumped, swinging straight through the titans, slashing his way through several hands as he did, then took off, the titans being distracted just long enough for the others to all make it past as well. Adam swung through the trees rapidly, flipping past and over branches, not slowing for an instant. He knew the others would be on the far side of the forest by now. He had to catch them. The sooner they rescued Eren, the sooner he could get started. Just then, there was a flash from up ahead and Adam grit his teeth, bursting out of the trees to find the Armored Titan waiting, fist cocked back.

"Shit!" He swore, firing a cable into Reiner's eye and shooting forward, barely getting inside the punch.

As he landed on Reiner's face, he spun, blocking Bertholdt's swords, his cable breaking loose, allowing him to fall as Bertholdt swung over to Reiner's other shoulder. Reiner turned, beginning to run as Mikasa caught him and landed lightly on the ground.

"I'm really starting to hate those two," Adam growled as Hannes rode over with several horses.

Mikasa and Adam climbed on two, riding off instantly. As they did, Adam glanced at Mikasa.

"Reiner will most likely have Eren in his mouth," Adam said. "I'll try to cut him loose quickly, but I may need to deal with Bertholdt first. If I end up having to fight Bertholdt, I need you to slow Reiner down. Target his joints. All of them."

Mikasa nodded and Adam turned back to the front. They weren't far behind now. Bertholdt turned, glaring back at them and Adam drew his swords again, meeting Bertholdt's gaze. Then, as soon as he was close enough, he sent out a cable, attaching it to the center of Reiner's back, launching himself forward. Bertholdt dropped off of Reiner's shoulder, swinging around and slashing at Adam as they neared each other. Adam flipped, slashing back, but Bertholdt avoided the strike. Adam flipped, landing on Reiner's shoulder and attaching a cable to the side of Reiner's neck, leaping off of Bertholdt just ahead of Bertholdt's next strike, barely avoiding it. Bertholdt followed him, both swinging down behind Reiner. Then, Adam landed on the side of Reiner's calf and leapt off, using his gas to streak back the way he had come. Bertholdt shouted in surprise, flipping and moving to block Adam's slash, only for one of Adam's swords to smash straight through his left sword, and the other removed Bertholdt's right arm at the elbow, then the left leg around mid-thigh, also cutting that side's blade holster and gas tank in half, the halves of the tank unleashing a deafening, angry hiss and shooting away from Bertholdt, who crashed into Reiner's leg hard, unable to swing back up with a controller for the broken side only. As Adam swung up at Reiner's neck, Mikasa moved in on Bertholdt for the kill, only for Reiner to grab Adam and Bertholdt's cables, yanking them both up and catching both.

Adam he hurled instantly, and Bertholdt he set on the top of his chest's armor plating, covering the front half of his neck with his hands. Adam flipped as he flew, shooting out a cable and catching a small tree, using it to swing around, his feet and butt hitting the ground, barely avoiding broken bones as he skidded around, shouting in pain and launching his gas. After a moment, he shot into the air, flying high and fast back at Reiner. He fell short, of course, but he was able to catch a second tree, slowing himself down and landing in a roll, inspecting his backside. His pants were shredded, and he was going to have a very annoying case of road rash. He sighed irritably as a scout slowed to a stop in front of him, tossing him a cloak, which Adam tied around his waist, then stuck into the leg harness of each leg just above the knee, covering himself.

"Thanks," Adam said, hopping onto the scout's spare horse.

Just then, he looked to the front, seeing Erwin riding toward them with a horde of titans following from in front of Reiner. Adam spurred the horse forward, chasing after the others.

"All units disperse!" Erwin shouted as he neared them. "Pull away from the titans!"

They all followed his command, dropping back a bit and allowing the titans to swarm Reiner. He plowed through several for a moment before being forced to stop. The titans swarmed him instantly and all he could do was stand there. Bertholdt couldn't help with his ODM gear ruined.

"All units, charge!" Erwin shouted. "The fate of mankind will be decided in this moment! Without Eren, the time when humanity can inhabit the world will never come! Now charge!"

Adam shot past Erwin, having spurred his horse the first time Erwin said to, and Erwin quickly caught up, Mikasa pulling up beside him on the other side.

"I'll kill Reiner this time," Adam said. "Now that Bertholdt's not able to defend him."

"How are your blades holding up?" Erwin asked.

Adam inspected them and nodded. "No damage or dulling at all, sir. They're incredible."

"I agree," Erwin nodded. "If only we could convince her to make every soldier blades like that."

"Maybe someone could, if only she'd wake up and _not_ be executed," Adam said.

Erwin glanced at him then forward again and Adam growled in annoyance, spurring his horse faster.

"That's a shame," Adam said. "I guess this conversation's over, then, huh?"

He stood on the saddle, remaining in a low crouch, and waiting as he closed in on the titans around Reiner. He couldn't kill Reiner yet. He had to make sure that Eren wouldn't instantly be killed afterward. Finally, he was close enough and yanked on the reins to stop his horse before leaping off, shooting out a cable, hitting a titan off to the side before streaking forward. He pulled his arms back, twisting his lower body before spinning himself as he had seen Levi do numerous times. Then, he carved his way through several titans, killing most of them before shooting past his anchor point, taking the cable with him and flipping, shooting another cable out and shaking his head to try to make the world stop spinning. He streaked forward, landing on the titan he had anchored himself to, killing it just as Mikasa passed him, killing one reaching for him.

"Don't do that again," Mikasa said. "You left yourself wide open."

"I know," Adam said, leaping down onto a seven meter titan and killing it before jumping off and swinging to another larger one. "Just wanted to look cool."

He flipped over a titan just as Reiner punched it, knocking it away. It looked like he had run out of patience. Adam landed on his shoulder and leapt forward, slashing the muscles on one side of Reiner's cheek through the armor. Then, he attached a cable and swung around to the other side, slashing the muscles there too as he passed. As he was passing Reiner's mouth, Eren began to fall out, bound and gagged.

"Sorry Eren!" Adam said, driving his sword through Eren's abdomen, Eren screaming in pain instantly.

Then, Adam landed back on Reiner's shoulder again, pulling his sword blade back out and grabbing Eren's hands, spinning and hurling him away. Mikasa caught him almost instantly and Adam leapt backward, pulling himself back with the cable as Reiner's hand slammed down on his shoulder, barely missing Adam. Adam flipped, launching his gas to propel himself back around behind Reiner's neck.

"Say goodnight Reiner!" Adam shouted, his swords meeting the side of Reiner's neck, cutting into him instantly.

Just as he neared Reiner's real body, Bertholdt's remaining foot crashed into him and Reiner flicked Adam's cable off of himself. Adam began to fall and flipped, attaching to a titan and swinging around, landing on it and killing it before leaping off and launching himself away with his gas. He landed on his horse, spinning around in the saddle and steered the horse away, spurring it onward. He looked back at them, seeing Reiner watching him, and flipped hi and Bertholdt off.

"Your move fuckers," Adam growled.

"Are you alright?" Mikasa asked.

"Fine," Adam nodded. "Let's get back to-"

He was cut off by a titan crashing to the ground ahead of them, both of them yanking on the reins, Adam's horse managing to remain on its feet as Mikasa's slipped and fell, Mikasa and Eren crashing to the ground. Adam looked back as Reiner hurled another titan, this one heading directly at Adam and the others.

"Good move," Adam mused, dropping off of his horse and attaching a cable to the ground in the distance, launching himself forward and grabbing Eren and Mikasa as he passed, skidding on his feet.

They narrowly escaped the titan, Adam's horse being crushed, then reached the end of the cable, bouncing and rolling along the ground for a moment before stopping.

"Okay, I think I'm done using my ODM gear for the moment," Adam groaned, rolling onto his back. "I'm getting tired of skidding across the ground."

He looked at his shoes, seeing the soles had holes now, and a couple spots on his feet had the skin scraped up. He looked at Reiner again as Reiner through another titan, not at Adam this time, thankfully. Then, they looked up as a titan with blonde hair falling to either side of her hear and a huge smile staggered toward them. It reached for them, only for Hannes to arrive, slashing its thumb off and making it pull its hand back. Adam shoved himself up, looking around to see Erwin, who was somehow missing an arm, being chased by a titan that was slowly gaining on his horse.

"You got this Hannes?" Adam asked.

"I got it," Hannes nodded.

Adam sprinted away, hopping on Hannes's abandoned horse and sped after Erwin on an intercept course. "Commander Erwin!"

Erwin glanced at him and nodded, turning and heading that way. Then, as Adam passed him, Adam jumped, leaning back and launching himself into the air with his gas, avoiding the titan's hand before flipping and attaching a cable, shooting back downward and carving out its weak point just as it reached for Erwin. The titan crashed to the ground, skidding for a ways with Adam on its back before Adam retracted his cable and slid to the ground, sitting down hard a short distance from it, Erwin returning and stopping beside him.

"Are you alright?" Erwin asked.

"I'll have road rash on my ass for several weeks, and my feet and burns are killing me, too, but yeah, I'm great," Adam groaned, pushing himself back up, looking to Reiner, then to Eren, Mikasa and Hannes, just in time to see the titan bite Hannes's lower half off, his upper half held in her hand. "Shit! Eren's not healed yet! He can't transform!"

"Go!" Erwin said.

Adam turned to run only for a titan to crash down in front of him, courtesy of Reiner. Adam shouted in annoyance, leaping into the air and blasting around it, swinging down and carving out its weak point, seeing Mikasa was saying something, a blush on her face and tears in her eyes. He found himself smiling, even as he sprinted toward them. Even in a situation like this, she had finally told him. Then, he stood in between her and the titan as it reached for them. Then, he screamed, the sound much louder than it should have been, and punched the titan's hand. It backed away instantly, and a moment later, a titan tackled it. Then another. And another. Adam spun, diving out of the way of a titan's foot as that one, too, charged at the smiling titan. Adam pushed himself up, staring at them, as they tore the titan apart. He looked around, seeing titans swarming Reiner again as well.

"Commander!" Adam shouted.

"Right!" Erwin nodded. "All forces, withdraw!"

Everyone turned, finding the nearest horse and piling on, all taking off back toward the wall. Adam found a horse that had a hoof trapped under a five meter titan and stopped, shouting in effort and lifting the titan. The horse jerked as it finally got free, standing and Adam dropped the titan, leaping onto the horse and spurring it away, the horse surging forward. He smiled, the horse was fast. It was a reddish brown Arabian horse with a strip of white down its face and a black mane and tail. He patted the side of its neck as he began to gain on the others, pulling up beside Mikasa and Eren on one side and Armin and Jean on the other before having the horse ease up.

"Damn, that horse is fast!" Jean said. "I thought we left you in the dust when we all took off!"

"Lucky find," Adam said. "Its hoof was trapped under a titan."

"And it didn't break its leg?" Jean said. "Damn, that thing's luckier than you and Eren combined!"

"You're telling me," Adam snorted. "You guys all okay?"

They all nodded, and Adam looked to Mikasa, who shook her head slightly. Adam looked back to the front, watching as they passed quickly through the trees, everyone on the alert again until they reached the far side. Then, they continued on.

* * *

Ymir scrambled up the wall with Erwin and Mikasa, who had apparently been hiding her own injuries, but who had nearly fallen off the horse just before reaching the wall. The sun had set a few hours before, but they were all trying to get back to the top of the wall as quickly as they could anyway. Adam grabbed Eren, using his ODM gear to get them both to the top, most of the others doing the same. Once they were at the top, Adam set Eren down and he sprinted to Mikasa, who was laying on a stretcher now.

Adam dropped back down using his cable and landed beside the soldier that had stayed to get the horses on the lift and walked over to his new horse, holding one hand under its head and stroking the top with the other, the horse lowering its head slightly as it did.

"She likes you," the soldier said. "She's a fine horse. Wonder who she belonged to before."

"I don't know," Adam said. "I just found her on the way back."

"Well, I think she wants to be yours now," the soldier chucked as the lift landed. "Come on. Help me get them loaded on."

They began to load the horses onto the lift, only able to do a handful at a time, and eventually finished, heading up with their own personal horses. Once they were back on top, they led the horses to the lift on the other side, Adam looking around.

"Where's Erwin?" Adam asked.

"He was taken away to the nearest district for emergency treatment," Armin said. "You still haven't been treated yet."

"Ain't no one wrapping my ass in bandaids right here in front of everyone," Adam snorted. "I'll get checked out once there's more privacy. Besides, my ass might hurt like a bitch, but as least I was in control of my body the whole time."

"No way," Ymir snorted. "You? You've got to be joking."

"No really," Adam said. "I haven't been on autopilot since Trost. Well, except for dodging the Colossal titan's swan dive before."

"No kidding?" Ymir asked. "Well what do you know, Annie actually managed to toughen up the biggest pussy in our group. Props to her. Where is she really, anyway?"

"She encased herself in crystal, and was taken away somewhere," Adam said. "I don't know where."

"And I assume when she was trapping herself, she left you them blades," Ymir said. "I don't think I've seen you swap them out once. Are they really that durable?"

Adam nodded. "They haven't even dulled a little since I started using them. Even cutting through Reiner's armor."

"That's amazing," Ymir said. "Just think what we could do if Eren were to learn to do that."

Adam nodded. "I agree. It would be amazing. Or, you know, if Annie would wake up and they would decide not to execute her."

Ymir snorted. "Well, at least you're still a lovestruck idiot. Glad some things never change."

Adam laughed, nodding, then sighed. "Shit. I'm not going to be able to ride much longer. I might need one of you to get my horse back for me."

"No way," Ymir said, wrapping an arm around Christa. "Historia's mine."

"Historia?" Adam blinked. "Oh, so that's your real name? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Historia."

"We already met," Historia smiled. "But sure, I'll get your horse back for you."

Adam nodded and walked over to a relatively clear spot on the wall and lay down on his stomach. After a moment, Jean sat beside him, smirking down at him.

"Looks like you really survived by the seat of your pants," Jean grinned holding back a laugh.

"Laugh it up," Adam grumbled. "The moment I'm done growing my ass cheeks back, I'm going to beat the shit out of you in the sparring ring."

"We'll see," Jean smirked. "But for now, you should probably just _sit_ this one out."

"Really?" Adam said as Jean grinned. "Your jokes are as pathetic as my finishing rank in training."

Connie and Sasha, both of whom had been walking over laughed, sitting down beside him. Then, Ymir and Christa joined them. And so, the roast session of endless ass-related jokes began.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Recovered

Adam reached the cabin and sighed. He had been released from the hospital in just under a week. Far less time than he had expected. His ass still itched constantly from the skin regrowing, but he could now do basically everything he could normally do again. He pushed the door open and stopped, seeing the new Levi Squad, consisting of all of his fellow former recruits, sitting around the table, eating dinner. Levi himself was seated at the head. Levi looked up from his dinner and stared at Adam for a moment before continuing to eat.

Adam kicked his boots off before grabbing himself some food and sitting down in the only empty seat. After several minutes of silence, Levi finished eating, setting his fork down and wiping his mouth before looking up at Adam.

"Did anyone fill you in on anything while you were in the hospital?" Levi asked.

Adam swallowed and shook his head. "No sir. I was only told that I was assigned here to help guard Eren and Christa, er, Historia."

Levi nodded. "Firstly, it was voted on and decided that you should be promoted for your efforts against the Female Titan, Armored Titan, and for saving Commander Erwin. Congratulations."

His voice held no emotion, so Adam got the feeling that he was not among those who wanted him promoted.

"Secondly, you're right about being assigned here," Levi said. "You're a member of the new Levi Squad. Erwin is in a coma from blood loss, and Pastor Nick has agreed to talk finally, so Hange relocated him to Trost. Tomorrow, I'm going to check on Erwin and attend a meeting, so you'll be spending the day cleaning and gathering rations. I'll supervise your training in the morning for a bit before I go. We'll start with sparring."

Adam nodded. "Aye sir."

Adam finished eating, then he and the others cleaned the dishes, then spent several hours cleaning the cabin again before going to bed. The next morning, Adam walked out to the sparring ring, the others joining him a few moments later. Adam watched as Jean stepped into the ring, grinning at him.

"Well Adam, I believe you said something about beating my ass, didn't you?" Jean asked.

"I did," Adam nodded, stepping into the ring.

So far, he had never actually beaten Jean, but for the last week he was in the hospital, he had had nothing better to do than sit in bed and remember Annie training or fighting him. So, while he had never actually used the techniques she had taught him like he should, since they were extremely effective, he _did_ know them well enough to use against Jean. He watched Jean take the usual combat stance and took a long breath before settling into Annie's combat stance. Jean hesitated, staring at him before grinning and stepping forward, throwing a punch at Adam. Adam stepped to the right and spun, left hand catching Jean's wrist and right catching his upper arm, trapping his arm over his shoulder and yanking down at the same time as he crouched, pressing his back flush with Jean's front and stood, leaning forward and kicking back with his right foot. Because all of this happened in the span of about a second, the result was Jean swinging vertically into the air before crashing back down on his back, grunting then rolling to the side, wheezing as he pushed himself back up. Everyone cheered, minus Levi, who simply watched in silence.

Adam readopted Annie's combat stance and Jean pushed himself up, taking several seconds to regain his breath before taking his own combat stance again. Jean lunged at Adam, meaning to tackle him, but Adam stepped to the left, avoiding it. Jean recovered well, spinning and throwing a haymaker, only for Adam to catch it, shoving Jean's head away and moving to sweep his legs.

"You won't get me again!" Jean shouted, leaping into a backflip.

Adam raised an eyebrow, flipping the hand on Jean's chin to rest behind his neck, then, as Jean landed his flip, Adam yanked forward on his head, reversing the direction and swinging his leg back down, slamming it into Jean's and flipping him forward, once again making Jean go vertical, before Jean crashed down on his back. Everyone cheered again. Jean groaned, struggling to his feet as Adam took Annie's stance once again.

"Where the hell did you learn to fight like this?" Jean asked.

"Annie," Adam said. "She taught me back during training, but my muscle memory tries to use the crap Shadis taught us. I have to actually stop and think to use Annie's."

"Not by much," Jean grumbled. "Okay. I've got you this time."

Adam raised an eyebrow as Jean kicked his foot, sending sand flying at Adam, only for Adam to step to the side. Jean lunged, throwing a straight punch and Adam stepped forward, drilling a punch into Jean's jaw. Jean staggered backward, and when Adam followed, he threw a roundhouse kick at Adam's head. Adam reached up, catching it and hooking it under his arm before turning so his left foot was against the inside of Jean's right, which was his support foot. Then, he threw Jean's left foot away from Jean, making Jean fall almost into a complete split. Jean sucked in a breath, face screwing up in pain before Adam pushed his forehead, tipping him backward. Jean landed on his back, rolling over and curling into the fetal position.

"Alway use kicks only when you know the enemy can't catch it," Adam said. "Usually meaning distract them first."

He helped Jean up, walking him out of the circle then turning as Eren stepped into it.

"Adam that was amazing!" Eren smiled. "You were like a second Annie! But I want to see how you measure up to the real one. Think you can handle me?"

Adam stared at him in silence for a moment, seeing the arrogant glint in his eyes. He stepped back into the ring and stopped. "I definitely don't measure up to Annie. Not by a mile. But I think I can take you."

"Just remember, I beat Jean in hand-to-hand combat," Eren said, the arrogant glint growing slightly.

"So did I," Adam said, eyes narrowing as he adopted Annie's combat stance.

Eren stepped forward, pulling a hand back and raising his other hand to block a counter punch, only for Adam to slam a windmill kick home in the side of Eren's head. Eren dropped on the spot and everyone gasped.

"What the hell!?" Conny demanded as Adam knelt over Eren, grabbing him by the front of his jacket.

"Do you think you're special?" Adam growled. "Is that it? You think that since you can turn into a monster, that makes you God's gift to humanity? Well guess what Eren, you're _not_ special! You never were! You were given a gift. One that, quite frankly, should scare the shit out of you. We don't know anything about it, really. We don't know if you'll someday turn into a titan and stay that way, we don't know if you can regenerate wounds endlessly, like if we have to cut you out without your arms and legs. We don't know if there are side effects, like a shortened lifespan for just one example. Hell, it should even scare you by making you question whether or not you even _are_ human! But let's pretend that you _are_ special for a second. That specialty, and that uncanny luck you've been enjoying, was bought with the lives of _countless_ of our _friends_! Gunther, Eld, Oruo, Marco, Ness, the Military Police that went out to save you from Reiner, the scouts that died doing the same thing! Hell, _Captain Levi_ , humanity's _strongest soldier_ , someone who's _actually_ special, broke a leg trying to save you. Even _Commander Erwin_ , the leader and brains of the Scout Regiment, lost an arm trying to save you from Reiner! Mikasa, someone else who's _actually_ special, broke her ribs saving you, and yet she's out here training, _a week later_ , just to protect you! So you better get off of that fucking high horse of yours before it trips over all of the corpses of our friends you're stepping over! Hell the only thing you actually seem naturally gifted at is getting our friends killed!"

Adam shoved hi back into the ground and stepped back, turning back toward him as Eren lay there for a moment before pushing himself up, shame shining from his eyes in place of arrogance now.

"You're right," Eren said. "I...I'm sorry. Everyone. Captain Levi, Mikasa. I'm sorry for getting you hurt, and for getting so many people killed because of my mistakes."

"It doesn't matter now," Levi said. "Focus on training. You can feel sorry for yourself later."

Eren nodded, turning back to Adam, who settled into Annie's combat stance once again.

"You constantly leave yourself open to kicks," Adam said as Eren took his own combat stance. "That's how Annie beat you in the forest. You're too worried about your opponents' arms, and not enough about their legs."

Eren nodded and Adam stepped forward, raising his front leg, only for Eren to step off to the side and throw a punch at Adam. Adam deflected it, turning and drilling his other fist into Eren's jaw. Eren bit down on his arm instantly, only for Adam to drill his knee into Eren's gut, lifting him off of the ground. Eren grunted, releasing his arm and Adam caught Eren's arm, flipping him and slamming him down on his back. Eren groaned, rolling over and standing before lunging, moving to tackle Adam, only for Adam to lift his foot, push kicking Eren's right shoulder, throwing him backward. Eren landed hard and Adam walked forward, holding out a hand and pulling Eren to his feet. Then, Adam turned to leave the circle, only for Mikasa to step forward, pushing him back into it.

"Mikasa, rest," Eren said, catching her arm. "You're still hurt. Please don't push yourself."

"I'll be fine," Mikasa said.

"I won't," Adam said. "Mikasa beat Annie. I'm not going to last ten seconds."

"That's alright," Levi said. "Mikasa, you're forbidden from sparring today. I can't have you breaking Adam right now. I have to leave for my meeting. Adam, I want you to teach them some of the techniques Annie taught you."

Adam nodded and Levi left. Mikasa glared at him before walking over to sit off to the side. Then, Adam turned to the others and began to show them the more basic techniques.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Taken

Adam watched as Central Military Police swarmed into the cabin. They had escaped with barely a handful of minutes to spare, making it to a cliff overlooking the cabin as the Military Police broke in. Adam looked to Levi, who had delivered Erwin's orders to flee. Things were getting out of hand. First Hange announced that Pastor Nick, who had finally agreed to talk, was tortured and killed by Central Military Police, and now this. And Eren's titan experiment in the day between was less than promising. He had no way of hardening his titan, which Adam had suspected was unique to Annie's, and out of the three times he transformed, only the first time had been good. The first, he had been in full control for about forty five minutes before writing something about his father into the ground and collapsing. The second, he had been two meters shorter and had eaten anything they had previously had him build and that was about it. The third time, he had failed to form a complete titan at all, and had been fused with it more completely, resulting in his face being partially ripped off when they tried to remove him from it before Mikasa finally cut him free.

"What now sir?" Adam asked.

"Let's head for the meeting point," Levi said. "We'll figure out our next move from there."

Adam nodded and they left for Trost. They arrived a few hours after sunrise, walking into the street only to be mobbed by angry shop owners who began to blame them for their financial problems, saying they weren't working hard enough.

"My business is like this," one of them saying. "If I don't earn money, it's my fault. And putting in the work and not getting the deserved reward is common place. But you guys are different. You get to just eat even without doing anything or showing results."

Levi began to push through the people in silence, the others following, Adam careful to keep his ODM gear, which he wasn't actually supposed to have with him at the moment, concealed.

"Walking high and mighty through town on a shopping trip?" another shop owner asked, even more beginning to press in.

"Bringing women along too, you sure are sitting pretty," another said, leering at Sasha, who shrank back, Adam stepping in front of her, the man glaring at him.

"If you guys have any conscience at all, leave your money and get out of here," one of the shop owners standing directly in Levi's path finally said. "The Scout Regiment has taken far more than they deserve after all."

"Watch out!" Levi shouted suddenly.

"Who're you watching out for, Mr. Humanity's Strongest Soldier?" one of the shop owners asked just as Adam glanced back, seeing what Levi had noticed.

He tackled most of them out of the way as Mikasa tackled the rest the other way, Levi finishing his sentence.

"Wagon!" Levi shouted.

As the wagon passed, two of the people in it grabbed Eren and Historia.

"Ar...I mean, Christa and Eren!" Sasha shouted, almost blowing their ploy. "They got captured again!"

Adam sighed, rolling his eyes. Then, he and the others took off, scattering and following the cart rapidly. Finally, they reached a warehouse where the cart was hidden and they all made their way to the roof. Adam and Mikasa both carefully looked through a window and stared for a few seconds in a mixture of shock and disgust. Inside the warehouse, a man was groping Armin, who was the only one that could be disguised as Historia. Adam and Mikasa retreated to the top of the roof and Adam grimaced.

"That's so wrong on so many levels," Adam said, Mikasa nodding.

"How's it going inside?" Levi asked.

"If we don't hurry, they'll see through Armin's disguise," Mikasa said. "Also, I feel sorry for him."

"I think he might need counseling after," Adam said.

"I see," Levi said.

"How's your leg?" Mikasa asked.

"I can move it alright," Levi said. "Mikasa, Adam, I leave taking the guards out to you. And once anyone else shows up, handle them too."

Adam and Mikasa nodded, then crept to an open window. Adam went first, dropping down behind a pile of crates before knocking once. He waited, and after several moments, one of the two guards stepped around the corner with a knife, only for Adam to strip him of it before trapping the man's arm and kicking his legs out from under him, slamming his head into the ground. Just as he did, he heard the other guard shout in pain. He tossed the knife away and dragged the guard into the corner, tying him up before returning to Armin and Jean, untying their ropes' nots and telling them to hold the ropes still. Then, he and Mikasa hid. After a moment, the fat head of the Reeves Company, Dimo Reeves, and two other men walked in. Before they could get more than ten steps in, however, Mikasa jumped, yanking one of the men's heads into a knee, knocking him out as Adam swept the other's feet out from under him before spinning and hurling him by the wrist, which broke in the process, into Dimo Reeves. As the two men crashed to the ground, Adam punted one in the face, knocking him out before holding his sword to Dimo Reeves' throat as Armin and Jean tied up the other two.

"Mikasa, frisk him," Adam said.

Mikasa did a quick check and came away with a pistol, tossing it aside. "Connie, you're sure there are only three?"

"Positive," Connie said.

Once everyone was tied up, the guards were brought back into the middle of the room and laid down beside Reeves' other men. Then, Reeves himself was sat against a crate.

"So you're the guy trying to kidnap our friends?" Levi asked, standing over Reeves.

"No!" Reeves said. "I'm just a cart driver being used! I don't know anything!"

He glanced at Mikasa and froze, staring at her. Mikasa's eyes widened slightly as she recognized him.

"Oh, that time..." Mikasa said. "You were blocking the door. This is the guy. I've heard his men call him Boss."

"His name's Dimo Reeves," Adam said. "He's the current head of the Reeves Company."

"I've heard of them," Levi nodded. "Well, _Boss_ , I don't feel very safe here. I think we should move to a location more favorable to me and my subordinates."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Reeves asked.

"No," Adam said, hauling him up. "You don't."

He pushed him and Reeves began to walk, Levi taking over leading him as the others all followed. However, just as they did, the man that had been groping Armin began to shout. Adam stopped, he and Armin returning to tighten his gag. Armin untied it and it slipped the man looking up at him.

"I heard you," the man said. "You're actually a boy. This is your fault. You made me like this." His eyes flicked down at his own groin and Adam felt sick. "Do something about it."

"Allow me, Armin," Adam said, pushing Armin aside and stomping on the man's groin.

The man's eyes shot wide open and he tried to scream, only for a squeak to escape, before passing out and falling to the side. Adam retied his gag and grabbed a piece of paper off of one of the crates, turning it over and writing "Rapist" on it, placing it on the man's chest, then stood, turning to Armin.

"Gag's fixed," Adam said. "Let's go."

"You didn't have to do that," Armin said as they left.

"He earned it," Adam said.

They got outside in time to see the others scaling the wall with their ODM gear and hurried there, climbing the wall as well. As they landed, they jogged over to the others.

"So what, you're going to give me humanity's miracle so that my men don't starve to death?" Reeves asked.

"Exactly," Levi said. "We're going to give you Eren and Christa."

Adam blinked, staring at Levi. He was joking. Right?

"Captain Levi-" Mikasa began but Levi ignored her.

"However, I have three conditions," Levi said. "First, from now on, the Reeves company will work against the Military Police and the government together with us of the Scout Regiment."

"What!?" Reeves gaped. "Do you want to start a war!?"

"Second," Levi continued. "The Reeves company will completely trust the Scout Regiment."

"Trust?" Reeves asked. "In the Merchants' world, that word is only used as a joke."

"Merchants?" Levi asked. "I'm not talking to a merchant. I'm talking to _you_ , Dimo Reeves. I'm asking you about your way of life. What kind of man are you? Are you going to let your men and the inhabitants of this town die, and be defeated? Or are you going to fight against the ones holding the higher power in this world? No one can say which is the right choice. You just have to try to pick the option that you will regret the least."

Reeves fell silent and Adam sighed. That was really it then. They were going to war with the government.

"Only an amateur would ask someone to sign a contract without telling them all of the conditions," Reeves finally said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Levi said. "The third one, from now on, whenever the Reeves Company obtains rare foods or luxury items, they preferentially give it to us, the Scout Regiment. For example, black tea."

Adam smirked. Levi _did_ love his black tea.

"Wonderful!" Sasha suddenly shouted, clearly thinking of meat. "That's a wonderful condition Boss!"

"You're more avid than merchants," Reeves said. "I like you, you're smart. I accept your proposal."

He shook Levi's hand and Adam smiled. Now all that remained was for Levi to form a plan. Or maybe tell them the one he already had.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Waiting

Adam tried to block out the screaming. When they had captured the two Military Police, one of which Hange identified as the man that tortured Pastor Nick, he hadn't expected them to talk easily. But he hadn't expected the torture session to last so long.

"I can't believe this is happening," Jean said. "I thought our enemies were titans. Why'd it have to turn out like this?"

"We're conducting a coup d'etat," Adam said. "And even still, the Scout Regiment has already been labelled as criminals. The only way for us to prove our innocence is to play along."

"Maybe instead we should try to get the public on our side against the monarchy," Armin said. "It's a shitty thing to do, but we could use the recent attacks to our advantage. We could cause a major problem, and make it seem like the king's fault. Then, when we, as the Scout Regiment solve the problem, we'd be seen as their saviors. It probably wouldn't be hard to fool the public."

Everyone stared at him and Armin forced a fake smile.

"Just joking," Armin said.

"Man, you really got fucked up, didn't you?" Jean asked.

"No, Armin's always been good at coming up with strategies," Eren said.

"I don't remember raising him like that," Mikasa said.

"It's a good idea," Adam said. "But we'd need either titans to break through a gate again, or for them to somehow otherwise get in. Then we'd have to sacrifice people while killing them. It'd be costly, and if our ruse was ever discovered, we'd be finished. Better to trust Commander Erwin's judgement on this. At least, for now."

The others nodded in agreement as the screaming finally let up. Adam glanced at Armin.

"Hey, Armin?" Adam asked. "Do you know where Annie's being held? I asked a few times while I was in the hospital, and I asked Hange before, but no one would tell me. I...I never really got to say goodbye, you know? And I want to see her."

Armin stared at the table in silence for a bit before taking a breath. "It was decided that you weren't allowed to see her."

"Excuse me?" Adam asked, voice icy.

"They know how you feel about her, and they don't trust you not to do something stupid to save her," Armin said. "So...you're not allowed to see her."

Adam remained silent for a long while. Finally he nodded. "So they'll just execute her and I won't know until it's done. Good to know. I'm so glad I helped them capture her. Look how well it turned out."

The others remained silent and he sighed. Finally, the door opened. Adam had a sword drawn instantly before putting it back as Ymir walked in.

"You should remember to knock next time," Adam said.

"Well, I would, but then, when I opened the door, you'd have had guns pointed at me," Ymir said, walking in and sitting beside Historia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What're we up to?"

Just then, the screaming began again and Ymir's mouth fell open. Adam nodded and she closed her mouth, her face darkening.

"Torturing?" Ymir asked.

"No choice," Adam said. "They won't talk. And we need to know what we're dealing with."

Ymir nodded.

"How was your job?" Adam asked.

"I've located Rod Reiss," Ymir said. "And I've identified most of the places he owns. I marked them on my map."

Adam nodded. "At least you're good for something."

"Watch it, Adam," Ymir smirked. "I'll eat you. I don't care if Annie would crush me for it or not."

"We'll see," Adam shrugged.

She smiled, shaking her head and they waited in silence for a while longer before Hange and Levi returned with Hange's assistant, Moblit, who had a notepad with anything they had learned from the two Military Police.

"Moblit, have Nifa take that to Erwin at once," Levi said.

"Yes sir," Moblit nodded, running outside to find Nifa, a scout that was acting as a messenger between them and Erwin.

"Did we find anything important out sir?" Adam asked.

"The Reiss family is the true royal family," Levi said. "Christa, no Historia, that means that you are the rightful successor to the throne."

"I'm...what?" Historia gaped.

"That explains why the Reiss family knows so much," Adam said.

Levi nodded, turning to Ymir. "How did it go?"

"We identified most of the buildings he owns," Ymir said. "And we found him himself."

Levi nodded. "And Petra?"

"She's fine," Petra said, walking through the door and smiling as Levi glanced at her, Adam swearing he saw Levi relax a little.

Levi nodded and looked back to Ymir. "Did anyone figure out who you are?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Ymir said. "Thank you again for not executing me."

"We had no reason to," Levi said. "You told us everything you knew, and you fought against titans and risked your own life in order to defend your friends. As far as I'm concerned, you're just another scout, so long as you follow the rules of your titan form."

Ymir nodded.

"Everyone head to bed for the night," Hange said. "We'll decide what to do tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded and headed to bed. Adam remained awake, staring out the window at the darkened landscape. He couldn't see Annie. They didn't want to let him save her. He didn't need to worry about not knowing if they'd execute Annie or not. They'd do it. They had probably never intended to do anything else. Adam grit his teeth. No. He couldn't let them. He'd save her. No matter what it took. Ymir had already told them that Titan Power could be transferred by a titan eating a person with the ability to become a titan, which was likely why they all seemed so desperate to eat Eren whenever he transformed. They wanted to be human again. Adam stared up at the moon in silence. After a while, Ymir walked over to stand beside him.

"She's going to be fine," Ymir said. "No one's taking Annie down."

"She already _got_ taken down," Adam said. "She's trapped in crystal and nothing can break it."

"That's not true," Ymir said. "That crystal _does_ have one thing that can break it. Well, technically two. My titan can break it by biting it, but it would crush Annie."

"Then how do I save her?" Adam asked.

"You idiot," Ymir said. "She already gave you exactly what you'd need to."

Adam blinked, then stared at the blades sitting beside him. He had taken to carrying them around even when out of his ODM gear, so now they were sparkling in the moon light.

"You're right," Adam breathed. "Do...do you know where..."

"No," Ymir said. "They don't trust me either. I'll try to help you find her, but I can't promise anything."

Adam nodded. "Thank you."

She nodded. "Now go to sleep. We're going to have a a busy day tomorrow."

Adam nodded and sat against the wall below the window, closing his eyes and resting the blades across his lap. After a few minutes, he drifted off.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Ambush

Reeves was dead. When he had gone with his son, Flegel Reeves, to prepare to transport Eren and Historia, who had agreed to become the Queen after the coup, to Rod Reiss for the Military Police, someone had slit everyone's throat besides Flegel. Then, they had taken Eren and Historia. Hange had left to tell Erwin the bad news, only for Erwin to be arrested for the murder of Reeves and two of his workers, and for all scouts to be ordered to turn themselves in. However, Levi refused to give up, and within a few hours had located Eren and Historia. Now, he, Adam, and Nifa were on a roof overlooking a very fancy carriage where two coffins were being loaded in.

"Something feels off," Adam said, looking around from the carriage. "Do you feel it, sir?"

"Yes," Levi nodded. "It's strange. This isn't how the Internal Military Police usually operate. They knew immediately that the Reeves company would conspire with us. Their train of thinking is a lot like mine. No. It'd be more accurate to say it's identical. Could it be him?"

"Him?" Nifa asked, still looking through her spyglass at the carriage.

"Have you heard of Kenny the Ripper?" Levi asked.

"That serial killer from the capital?" Adam asked. "The guy who slashed a hundred Military Police's throats when they were still trying to capture him?"

"He's not real, though," Nifa said, looking over at Levi. "It's just an urban legend that was passed around for a few decades."

"He's real," Levi said. "I lived with him when I was younger."

Adam stared at him, seeing the completely serious look on his face, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"You're really something captain, joking around at a time like this," Nifa smiled.

"He's serious," Adam said, Nifa staring at him. "Damn. That's..." He stared past Levi, where a very thin wisp of white smoke curled up over the edge of the building before fading. "Move!"

He tackled Nifa over the point of the roof as Levi dove to the side, a pair of shots hitting the chimney beside where Levi had been crouching, shredding Levi's cloak, and into the roof just behind Adam and Nifa, both of them rolling down the roof before falling to the alleyway below, landing hard just as two more shots rang out. Adam groaned, looking up at Nifa, who had landed on top of him as she pushed herself up.

"Thank you," Nifa breathed. "You saved me."

"Don't thank me yet," Adam said, standing and drawing his swords. "We haven't survived this attack yet."

Nifa nodded, drawing her own blades as they looked up, an older man with wiry, shoulder-length, black hair and a goatee, a black trench coat, and a black hat flipped over the building they had been on, aiming a pair of guns that controlled his strange, shoulder-mounted ODM gear at Levi. Adam didn't stick around to watch the fight. He grabbed Nifa's hand, sprinting to the street before looking around quickly. Almost instantly, three more people with the gun ODM gear appeared from alleyways.

"Move!" Adam shouted, he and Nifa taking off in opposite directions as the ground where they had been all but exploded.

Adam flipped, watching the three take off, their cables firing from below their guns barrels, which he watched fall away and they attached a new barrel as they swung around using their other gun. They were flawed. They were vulnerable immediately after firing, and from behind. Adam flipped, landing on a building and using gas to flip over it, landing on the opposite side. A moment later, the person chasing him shot over him, beginning to turn only for Adam to fly up past him, splitting him completely in half diagonally across the abdomen before flipping, sending out a cable and swinging down under a blast from another gun user. He looked around quickly, assessing the situation as more and more of these people began to appear. Nifa killed one of them, mostly running away to stay alive, and Levi was trying to escape Kenny the Ripper, which is who Adam assumed the one hounding him was. They couldn't win. Not now, at least. With only the three of them, they were doomed if they tried to fight. He swung into an alleyway, stopping and going higher, then dropping as his pursuer shot into the alleyway, decapitating them as they tried to turn after him. Then, Adam took off again, more following him.

He couldn't say he preferred fighting humans to titans. Titans weren't able to think critically, or shoot at him. But humans he was able to understand the thinking of, and also kill with one blade practically anywhere. He flipped over a building, swearing as several people waiting on the building aimed at him. However, before they could shoot him, Nifa both shot past, grabbing Adam and pulling him out of the way of the shots.

"Thanks," Adam said, flipping and continuing using his ODM gear. "We need to get out of here."

Nifa nodded just as a male with the odd ODM gear stepped out in front of them. Adam sent a cable out into the man's face instantly, flipping and retracting the cable just as the man whipped around, sending him flying at the rest who were following. Then, he flipped, using gas to catch back up to Nifa, both of them retreating toward the others, Levi catching up after a moment a second group of troops following.

"I think we're in over our heads here," Adam said.

"Just keep moving," Levi said. "We need to call off the rescue and escape."

"Right," Adam nodded, glancing back in time to send himself higher with gas, the other two both scattering as well as several shots flew past.

After a few minutes, they found the others, Jean, Sasha, Connie, Ymir, and Mikasa with spare horses, and Armin in the carriage they were going to use to rescue Eren and Historia. Levi landed in the carriage as Adam scooped up a chair using his sword between the seat and the back, then spun, hurling it and smashing it into one of their pursuers' faces just before he shot, making him shoot another before slamming headlong into a building. Adam flipped back around, turning with the others as their pursuers began to close in. There weren't that many left now. Several sped up, getting in close and firing at Levi and Adam, only for Adam to jet sideways into an alleyway to avoid his shot, hearing one of the enemies shout in pain and crash to the ground. He flipped, streaking back the other way and then swinging out behind the enemies, gunning it and streaking after them, catching up quickly and flipping, splitting two across the back and their sides as he passed them. One caught up to Armin, only for Mikasa to kick her in the head, making her crash down in the cart, Jean aiming a rifle at her.

"Don't move!" Jean shouted, the girl beginning to stand. "I said don't move!"

She smashed the rifle away, aiming at him, but hesitated. In that moment, Armin spun, drawing a small pistol from his coat and shooting her in the head, killing her. Adam glanced back as the last couple of enemies dropped back, disappearing into alleyways. Adam landed on a horse, Levi, Nifa, and Mikasa doing the same and they entered an open park a moment later.

"Looks like they pulled back," Adam said. "I didn't see any gas tanks."

"Me neither," Mikasa said. "They probably can't hold much."

"Don't let your guard down," Levi said, watching the buildings around them carefully.

"I won't sir," Adam said, also scanning the buildings.

However, after another fifteen minutes they had reached the gate and left quickly, before any further problems could arise.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Second Round

Adam watched as Levi turned back to the two Military Police they had caught, Marlo and Hitch, both of them from Stohess, and both from the same training class as Adam and the others.

"Don't you know your actions cost the lives of over one hundred people in Stohess?" Hitch suddenly shouted, apparently determined to say her piece before whatever Levi decided to do with them. "I don't care if you were pretending to be righteous or whatever! Your actions threw the victims and their families into hell! You know that!?"

"Of course I know that," Levi said.

"You!" Hitch said, looking up at Jean. "You were part of the hundred forth trainee squadron, right!? You trained with Annie? Were you friends of hers?"

Jean stared at her in surprise, hearing the desperation and worry in her voice.

"No, she probably didn't have any friends," Hitch said. "She was always so gloomy and didn't care about anything, and she hated socializing with people. Even though I know so little about her...she disappeared after that day. She must have been crushed completely by the titans!"

"You're wrong," Adam said, walking over to stand in front of Hitch, a dead look in his eyes. "Annie didn't disappear. Annie...Annie _was_ the titan that we captured that day. She's currently being held in a secure location."

Hitch stared at him. "What's...your name?"

"Adam," Adam said.

"So it's you," Hitch said. "She used to talk about you. She was so worried that you would die and she'd never get to see you again. You were the only person I ever saw her show emotion toward. She must have loved you."

Adam grit his teeth, remaining silent and walked away, stopping a short distance from the others, beside Ymir.

"It's alright," Ymir said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I made you a promise, right?"

Adam sighed, nodding. "Yeah. Thanks."

Ymir nodded and they all left, Jean moving Hitch and Marlo somewhere out of the way before rejoining them, informing them that both had promised not to report anything once they got free, Jean having left a knife wedged deep in a tree for them to eventually try to get out. They all headed deeper into the forest before stopping to make camp. However, just after nightfall, Hange arrived with Moblit, Hitch, and Marlo. Adam sighed, standing as Hange stopped in front of Levi, holding out a piece of paper.

"The coup was a success," Hange said. "Control of the capital and the towns around it has been assumed by Zachary. The public also has been informed of the truth of the Interior Military Police's actions. The Scout Regiment has been exonerated. We're all free again."

Everyone cheered except for Levi, who was still reading Erwin's letter, and Adam, who disagreed about the word all.

"This is good news," Levi said. "But I'm sorry Hange, two of the three you entrusted to me were killed. Nifa managed to survive thanks to Adam."

"He seems to have a knack for saving people," Hange said. "Although, they all seem to be attractive young women."

"I don't think I like what you're implying," Adam said. "Captain, how soon do we move on Rod Reiss?"

"Once we've rested," Levi said.

"You found him?" Hange asked.

"Petra and Ymir tracked him down, and identified all of the buildings he owns," Levi said. "Armin reviewed the list, and the history of each place, and decided that the most likely location was an old rebuilt chapel where Rod Reiss's family was killed by bandits when they burned the chapel down."

"What's so special about it?" Hange asked.

"The chapel's made of stone," Ymir said. "The bandits would have had to go to a ridiculous amount of trouble to burn down a stone building, and by the time they succeeded, the Reiss family could have escaped."

"That _does_ seem a bit suspicious," Hange said. "But what about his house?"

"It's too obvious," Armin said. "Plus, thanks to Ymir, we know that eating a Titan Shifter, in this case Eren, will transfer the power and memories from that shifter to another. We suspect that something about the Reiss bloodline is special, maybe allowing them to use Eren's ability to control titans, which Ymir said is called the Coordinate, though she didn't know much about it. Rod Reiss probably intends to have Historia eat Eren, or maybe eat Eren himself. In that case, they would need a much more secluded area than his home, and the church is in the middle of this forest."

"I see," Hange nodded. "Erwin actually gave me this letter explaining all of that and suggesting the church as well, believe it or not. Armin, you're incredibly sharp."

"Thank you," Armin said.

"Everyone get some rest," Levi said. "We'll be facing Kenny again tomorrow, likely with all of the forces he has left."

"Kenny Ackerman, actually," Hange said. "We looked into his background on account of a rumor of an anti-personnel squad within the central police."

"Ackerman?" Levi asked. "That explains a lot. Alright. I'll deal with him when the time comes. You all just do what you can to defeat the rest."

"I have a few ideas about that," Adam said.

They all turned to him and he began to explain.

* * *

"Thirty five enemies!" Levi shouted as he swung about in the smoke. "All on the pillars in front of you, just below the ceiling!"

Adam leapt into the air, sending out a cable and feeling it stick to the crystal pillars. The crystal was the same as Annie's, but a less durable. Still, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer amount of it. The entire underground cavern was covered completely in it and stretched as far as the eye could see, with crystal pillars the same size as the trees in the forests outside Wall Rose.

Adam swung around a pillar, staying tight to it and leaving the smoke less than a meter from a pair of Kenny's anti-personnel troops. Then, he decapitated both, dropping into the smoke again and sending out another cable. He could hear more screams as the others fought, Levi and Mikasa likely slaughtering the troops. However, they only had a handful of troops, compared to the thirty five they were up against. He shook his head, looking up and seeing a pair of anti-personnel troops swinging by over him, launching himself upward in gas and allowing them to bisect themselves on his blades before flipping and sending out both cables, one stabbing into a third troop as his other caught a pillar, allowing him to swing around.

With the body acting as a weight, he stopped on the pillar, the body swinging around and slamming into a pillar, pulling the cable tight just before an anti-personnel troop hit it, decapitating himself before Adam retracted his cable and took off again. He ducked into smoke, then popped out behind a pair of them. He slashed the first, a male, and he dropped like a rock. The female turned to him as he was pulling his sword back and he froze. She was blonde, and had the same angry-yet-uncaring expression Annie always wore. For a moment, Adam was seeing Annie. Then, the woman began to raise one of her guns and Adam's body took over, kicking her hand aside and making her shot miss before he landed on her, retracting his first cable and leaping away, escaping into the smoke and landing against the side of a pillar.

He tried to regain control, breathing into his shirt as he struggled to calm his trembling body. After several moments, Hange screamed and several anti-personnel troops began to swing past. Adam leapt at them, slashing two and catching a third with a cable before swinging up and slashing two more before retreating back into the smoke, dropping the body he was towing around with his cable as he did. He landed on the side of the pillar away from the troops and stopped, taking several breaths, forcing his body to still.

"You okay?" Ymir asked, landing next to him. "You froze."

"I'm fine," Adam said. "My body took over and got me out of the way, again."

Ymir nodded. "Your instincts are pretty useful."

Adam nodded as Petra landed beside him as well.

"What happened?" Petra asked.

"She reminded me of Annie," Adam said. "It won't happen again."

Petra nodded just as Levi shouted for them to follow the troops, leaving Armin to look after Hange, who had a wound in her shoulder. Adam swung around the pillar and took off, the others going with him. They rapidly sped through the trees, however, just as the anti-personnel troops came into view, a light flashed from deeper in and steam began to explode from ahead of them. Adam swore. They were too late.

"We have to save Eren!" Mikasa shouted.

Adam sent out another cable, using his gas to fight against the gale-force winds pushing him back. After a moment, he swung past the anti-personnel troops, the blonde he had seen earlier watching him pass before Adam turned back to the front, continuing, the others all at their sides and the anti-personnel troops turning to follow after several moments. Adam ignored them. He reached a large clearing on the far side where an absolutely massive titan, already bigger than the Colossal Titan and still growing, making the roof of the cavern shatter and crumble, was still in the process of forming, and Eren was on an outcropping of crystal, chained in place as a sacrifice while Historia was struggling to unchain him. So then, the titan was Rod Reiss.

Adam used his ODM gear to skirt the outside of the room, already feeling like he was burning from the heat being thrown off of Reiss's titan. Finally, he landed behind Eren just as Historia was thrown back to the wall by a particularly strong gust of steam, only for Ymir to catch her. Adam used his cables to ancor himself in place behind Eren and slashed all of the shackles on him, cutting him free and catching him as he was thrown backward. Then, he jumped back to the wall, retracting his cables and setting Eren on his feet as the others all arrived.

"Can we get out of here?" Conny asked.

"No," Levi said. "It'd be difficult even without carrying Eren and Historia. With them, we won't make it."

"No, there's no way out anymore," Eren said, just as the cavern began to collapse rapidly, debris falling constantly on the far side of the titan.

Adam looked to the side, seeing a medical case with a syringe and several bottles of purple fluid, one of which had a label reading "Armor." He picked it up and turned to Historia.

"What is this?" Adam asked, Historia glancing at it.

"It turns anyone it's injected into into a titan," Historia said.

Adam stared at it. If they had that power, and Annie were to wake up, they could take her power and give it to someone they chose. He shook his head. They wouldn't do that. That was just plain wrong. He handed the bottle to Eren.

"It's all up to you Eren," Adam said. "Do you think you can harden with this?"

Eren stared at the bottle and the label on it. He looked to Levi.

"Sorry to keep doing this to you Eren, but you'll have to choose," Levi said.

"I'll do it," Eren said.

He stood, but then hesitated. Then, he turned, kissing Mikasa for a moment before turning and leaping off of the crystal outcropping he had been on before, biting into the bottle and transforming. Then, he stopped as he landed, his body rapidly crystalizing, more crystal spreading from the top of his head into a massive birdcage-like shape.

"Everyone underneath Eren!" Levi shouted.

They all moved to go, but Adam stopped, glancing back at Mikasa, who was still too stunned to move. He shook his head, grabbing her and leaping away from the wall just as a chunk of crystal crashed down where they had been. Then, as crystal began to fall from above, a massive clawed hand suddenly grabbed both as Ymir's titan form leapt backward, barely escaping more falling crystal before slipping through a gap in the bars of the birdcage, which almost instantly filled in. Then, whatever parts of the cavern and the ground above hadn't collapsed yet cave crashing down on them all at once.

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Reiss

Adam pulled against Eren, watching as the crystal allowed him to pass through it like a thick fluid, filling in behind him. They had initially tried breaking it with Mikasa's blades, and then with pieces of the cavern, but they hadn't even scratched it. And Adam wasn't going to volunteer the idea of his own blades, since he had a feeling he'd need all eight, and probably more, for Annie. However, when Mikasa had gotten desperate and frustrated, she had called out to Eren, and a moment later he had grown out of the titan body.

Adam lowered Eren down to Levi, who set him down just before Eren groaned, stirring. He looked around, sitting up and holding a hand to his head, before staring at the titan body and the cage around them. Above them, Connie and Sasha finally managed to break through the normal ground above the cage, breaking them free.

"We're out!" Connie shouted as Sasha dropped back down, bowing before Eren.

"Eren, thank you so much!" Sasha said. "You did it! Although, at the time I was thinking-"

"Sasha," Adam said, catching her and pulling her up. "Maybe we should stick to thanks."

Sasha nodded and Eren stared up at the titan again.

"It worked?" Eren asked. "That bottle, is anything left of it?"

"You mean the one you crunched?" Adam asked before chuckling. "No. Shockingly you used it all. There was another bottle but it got crushed along with the syringe."

Eren nodded. "I hope I can still harden."

He looked up, then back down at all of them.

"Eren, you managed to harden," Levi said. "Assuming you can still do that, this means that we can now seal the hole in Wall Maria. A lot of our friends have died, we've had a long hard journey, and we're anything but heroes, but now, we have a chance."

Eren nodded and pushed himself up. "We need to stop Rod Reiss's titan."

"That won't be easy," Adam said. "That fucker's huge. But you're right. We need to get going."

Levi nodded and they all left the cage through the hole Connie had made, Adam bringing Eren and Ymir bringing Historia. Once out, they looked around, seeing Reiss crawling away, his body so big he couldn't even stand, resulting in him dragging his face across the ground. After a moment, Armin arrived with horses and a carriage with Hange in it, everyone climbing onto a horse and taking off after the titan, Eren and Historia sitting in the carriage with Hange. Eren and Historia explained the situation to everyone, including the fact that Eren's father had eaten Rod Reiss's daughter and stolen the power of the "Founding Titan" who could control other titans and memories, then had forced Eren to eat him. Then, they explained that the Founding Titan's power could only be used by a Reiss, but that even if a Reiss got the power from Eren, they would also get the first king's will, which would prevent them from using that power to wipe out the titans because the first king though that the titans forcing them to live inside the walls would create true peace.

"That's interesting," Hange said.

"That's fucked up," Adam said. "How do we deal with Reiss?"

"I could allow him to eat me," Eren said. "He'd become the Founding Titan."

Everyone stared at Eren in shock, Adam looking across the Carriage and seeing the hurt in Mikasa's eyes. Not only was he considering suicide, but he also had yet to acknowledge the fact that he had kissed her.

"We could restrain Reiss after that and undo the first king's brainwashing," Levi said.

"We don't know that," Adam said. "Historia doesn't know how to do it, and it's more likely that Reiss would use it to stop us instead. We should just kill Reiss."

"Agreed," Armin said. "There are too many unknowns with trying to use Reiss. We should stick with our plan to have Eren seal Wall Maria."

"I also agree," Historia said. "For generations, the Reiss family has been trying to undo the first king's brainwashing and failing. But now, for the first time ever, we have a chance to try and save humanity from the titans _without_ the first king interfering."

"There's no way Dr. Jaeger would have done something like that without reason," Armin said.

"That's right," Mikasa agreed. "And then there's the matter of the basement. Perhaps the key to saving humanity is in the basement."

Eren pulled the key he wore around his neck out and stared at it. "Maybe."

"If all else fails and we have absolutely no choice but to give the Founding Titan power to a reiss, we can always give it to Historia," Adam said. "I'll bet my life that Rod Reiss has more of that serum left somewhere."

Everyone was silent before Historia nodded.

"If the day ever comes that we have no more choice, I'll do it," Historia said. "Hopefully by then, we'll have a way to remove the brainwashing by then."

"But Historia, that brings up one problem," Hange said. "Because of his size, we can't restrain Rod Reiss, and we definitely can't let him roam around. Which means, we'll have to kill your father."

"Eren, I'm sorry," Historia said. "Back then, when I was going to become a titan, I actually would have eaten you. But not because of duty, or to save humanity. I just wanted to believe in my father. I didn't want him to hate me. But now, it's time for me to say goodbye."

Adam looked ahead to the titan, then trailed his eyes over its path, his eyes widening as he did. He spurred his horse forward, catching up to Levi. "Captain, have you noticed it turn at all?"

"No," Levi said. "Which means..."

"It's heading for Orvud District," Adam finished, Levi nodding.

"We need to hurry!" Levi shouted, spurring his horse forward, everyone else speeding up as well.

As they rode, Eren stood up, beginning to yell at Rod Reiss to stop, beginning to punch as he yelled after a moment.

"Eren!" Adam called, Eren stopping and staring at him. "I highly doubt that it was the punch that made the titans follow your command. If controlling titans was as easy as throwing punches and yelling, I'm pretty sure our training squad would have been swarmed by titans."

"Well what do you suggest?" Eren asked.

"Well, it's almost definitely something a lot more complex than punching and yelling, so most likely, it has to do with the emotions you were feeling at the time," Adam said. "You just lost Hannes, got betrayed by three friends, found out another was also a titan and never said anything, and were watching as all of your other friends were all about to be killed all because they tried to save you and failed. I highly doubt we'll be replicating those emotions right now."

"He's got a point," Hange said. "We'll have to try something else."

Just then, they found Erwin and several troops, Erwin turning and riding along with them as Levi filled them in. Adam looked back at Rod Reiss, seeing the trees around him catch fire whenever they got ten meters from him. He sighed. Blades were useless. He sighed, settling in to wait for Erwin to come up with a plan.

* * *

Adam stepped up beside Mikasa as the sun began to rise behind them. Most of them were tying up the crates of explosives and gunpowder that Eren would be shoving down Reiss's throat, assuming he had one, and the Garrison Regiment was preparing the cannons to uselessly blast the shit out of Reiss.

"Mikasa, go talk to him," Adam said.

"He has other things to worry about," Mikasa said.

"And by tomorrow, either one of you will be dead, or you'll have another excuse to put it off," Adam said. "He kissed you. That means that he has feelings for you. But neither of you has started the conversation, so nothing's come of it. Now, go and talk to your boyfriend."

Mikasa stared at him for a moment before sighing and nodding, walking away from him, over to where Eren was sitting alone. He was deep in thought, clearly, and had a sad, melancholic look on his face, but when he saw Mikasa walking over, he stood. She stopped in front of him, one hand tugging the front of her scarf up to her nose before pulling it back down again.

"Are you alright?" Mikasa asked. "You seem...unhappy."

"I just..." Eren stared at the ground before sighing. "I guess, at some point I began to think I was special because of my powers. Adam managed to snap me out of it, and I realized I wasn't special, or lucky, but...until I found out what my father did...I never really..." He trailed off, falling silent for a long time. "My father stole the power and murdered an entire family, including children, to do it. And then...he forced it on me. I...I never wanted it. But after finding that out...I don't deserve it. I was never supposed to have it. So many people are dead now because my father wanted to make me special. It probably would have been better if I had-"

Mikasa slapped him, hard. "Don't you dare say that. You may not have wanted the power, and it may not be yours to have, but you have it now. And no matter what, it could never have been better for your death."

"Sorry," Eren sighed.

They both stood silently for a moment before Mikasa took a breath deciding she had stalled enough.

"Eren...about what happened in that cave..." Mikasa said, pausing to think of how to say what she wanted to.

"I'm sorry," Eren said. "I just...I thought there was a good chance we were going to die, and I didn't want to die before at least being able to-"

Mikasa cut him off by cupping his face and pressing her lips to his. After a moment, she pulled back, only for Eren to mash his lips back to hers, pulling her against him. She gasped as he did before closing her eyes and returning the kiss in kind. Back by the net, Adam smirked as Armin, who had been walking over to talk to them, spun around, hurrying back to the net and kneeling down beside Adam, beginning to tie it up as well.

"It's about time," Armin said.

"No kidding," Adam said, looking around, his grin growing massively. "So is that."

Armin looked up, seeing Ymir and Historia also kissing finally, only to look back at the net, his face bright red and his eyes wide, suddenly struggling to tie the net.

Adam laughed. "Armin, you're not having indecent thoughts about our future queen and her girlfriend, are you?"

Armin's face darkened and Connie and Sasha both laughed.

"Good thing Reiner's not here," Connie said. "I think he liked Historia too."

"Good thing Reiner's not here because I don't feel like dealing with the headache of trying to kill him again," Adam said. "Though, while we're on the subject of people's girlfriends..."

He looked to Armin, who sighed heavily.

"You know I can't tell you, Adam," Armin said. "I'm sorry. I want to. I want you to be able to see her, and maybe wake her up. But I _can't_ tell you."

"Yes you can," Adam said, feeling himself starting to get angry. "Orders or no, if you _wanted_ to tell me, you easily could. You're a good friend, Armin, but don't stand there and lie to my face. You _can_ tell me. You just _won't_."

He finished his knot and stood, walking away from the net, stopping a ways away from the others and drawing a blade, trailing his fingers over it for a moment before staring at his reflection in it. Reflected in the crystal, his green eyes looked the same shade of blue as Annie's, and his black hair looked like a dark blue. Historia stepped up beside him and he sheathed the Blade, turning to her.

"They still won't tell you?" Historia asked.

"Of course not," Adam said. "I'm in love with an enemy titan shifter from God knows where. Why would they want me around to argue against her execution?"

Historia sighed, staring at the ground.

"You're planning to make the killing strike, right?" Adam asked, indicating the ODM gear she was wearing. "That way the people will accept you easier as queen?"

Historia nodded.

"Do me a favor, then," Adam said. "Punch Levi as hard as you can for me. I can't do it, but I _really_ want to. Erwin too, but I can't punch a cripple, not even by way of asking the queen to."

Historia smiled and nodded. "I could order her spared, or order them to tell you."

"Nah," Adam said. "I'll just suck up enough to get the information myself. Or I'll follow Armin until he visits. He's bound to. He's nice enough."

Historia nodded and they waited in silence for a while before the net was finally finished, all of the corners tied together on the top for Eren to grab once he transformed. Then, they waited. Finally, it began. As Reiss came so close to the wall that they could feel the heat coming off of him, which technically was still about a hundred fifty meters out, all of the canons on top of the wall opened fire, most slamming into his head and shoulder, fairly well aimed, but a lot hitting around him or as far back as his legs. Then, once they had all fired and done nothing, a line of cannons on the ground, which couldn't possibly hit his weak point, opened fire, obviously doing even less.

"Why'd we bother with cannons on the ground?" Adam asked.

"I have no idea," Historia said. "Even for normal titans that's completely useless."

Finally, after a half dozen minutes of repeated canon fire, and the troops on the ground retreating to the top, Reiss finally reached the wall, pulling himself up on it. Adam gagged almost instantly. Reiss had scrapped off his entire front, leaving his ribs jutting out and all of his internal organs exposed, and the front half of his face ground off completely, now missing flush with the front of its throat. Then, as it stood there, its internal organs all tilted forward and splattered down on the wall with a near-deafening splat, titan blood and juices splatting down in the streets below them. Adam sighed, picking up a bucket of water, Historia doing the same.

"Pull your men back," Levi said to the leader of the Garrison Troops in Orvud District. "We'll take it from here."

"Did I ever mention how good it feels to be a part of the most elite team humanity has?" Adam asked.

"Far cry from dead last in training huh?" Historia asked.

"I just wasn't enough of a boot-licker to make top ten," Adam said.

Then, they began stage one of their plan. A pair of barrels on wheels with modified ODM gear was sent streaking toward it with the ODM gear, then, the barrels, both filled with gunpowder, crashed into its superheated hands and exploded, blowing its hands off. Then, Eren shifted into a titan, grabbing the massive net filled with explosives and crouched, waiting to sprint.

Reiss crashed down on the bridge, head turned toward Eren. Then, Eren sprinted forward, swinging the net around and shoving the entire thing shoulder-deep into Reiss's mouth. Then, before he could even consider fleeing, the entire thing erupted into a fireball, blasting Reiss's upper body into pieces and hurling Eren away, also decimating his body, Eren himself flying out of the back and beginning to fall.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted as everyone else dumped their water buckets on themselves and threw them away.

"Catch him Mikasa!" Adam shouted, Mikasa taking off to do exactly that, everyone else taking off after the chunks of Reiss.

Adam attached his cables to two of them and shove forward, splitting both in half, then flipped, going after a third and splitting it, only to see a single massive piece falling above him.

"Historia!" Adam shouted, pointing at it. "Big one!"

Historia nodded, attaching a cable to it and streaking up at it, carving her way through it instantly. Almost instantly, the rest began to steam and burn away and Adam sighed as Historia went limp, beginning to fall. Ymir caught her and swung down to the ground, setting her down on her feet as people began to gather around, Ymir stepping back and standing with her hands behind her back, displaying subservience to Historia. Adam smiled, flipping and using gas to jet back toward the wall until he was close enough to catch himself with a cable, swinging back up to the top. As he landed, he rolled to a stop and stood, looking back down as Historia announced that she was the rightful ruler of the walls.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters. The new ODM gear is based on the Wing scabbard from the first Attack on Titan game.

* * *

Interlude

Adam smirked as Historia marched down the hallway, the others from their training group all following. Her coronation had been a huge success, and she was totally accepted by the citizens of the walls due to having dealt the finishing blow to Reiss. Now, she was looking for Levi to punch him, for multiple reasons, including him literally forcing her to become the queen.

"Hey now, are you really going to do it Historia?" Eren asked.

"Yup," Historia said. "Didn't you tell me to do it too?"

"I wasn't serious!" Eren said.

"You've got this Historia," Jean urged.

"Remember to make it count," Adam said. "You'll only be able to do it once without making him mad."

Finally, they turned the corner, finding Levi staring out the window. Historia released a battle cry, running over as Levi raised an eyebrow, then punching him in the arm uselessly. Everyone but Adam "Ooo"ed while Adam rolled his eyes and smiled. He should have known she didn't actually have the heart to hit him.

Historia laughed, backing away. "How do you like that!? I'm the queen! If you got a problem with-"

Levi laughed once, Historia and the others all falling silent as he smiled, the smile not reaching his eyes. "Thanks, you guys."

He turned, walking away and Historia left to do something else, most of the others going with her. Adam turned, walking after Levi, catching up after a bit.

"Sir, do you happen to know where Hange is?" Adam asked. "I have something I'd like to talk to her about."

"I think she's in the library right now," Levi said.

Adam nodded, then paused. "Was he your father?"

"Uncle," Levi said. "but he raised me, so he might as well have been."

Adam nodded. "I'm sorry."

Levi nodded and Adam left, heading to the library and walking in, finding her and Moblit discussing ideas for Eren's upcoming tests.

"Oh, hey Adam," Hange smiled. "We were just talking about what we should have Eren do first."

"I'd suggest creativity practice so he gets better at controlling it," Adam said, walking over. "I actually had something to show you. I've been working on an idea for a knew type of ODM gear, and I'd like you to take a look at it. It honestly took me longer to draw something recognizable than it did to think of it."

He held out a notebook with the sketches in it and Moblit took it, flipping through the sketches, Hange looking at them as well.

"This is...genius," Hange said. "Why has no one thought of this before?"

Moblit shrugged. "Probably because of the last king censoring everything."

"Adam, you continue to impress," Hange said. "I'll see about having a prototype made. You want to be the one to test it?"

"I'd love to," Adam nodded. "I can field test it when we go to Shiganshina, if we don't do any expeditions between now and then."

"We're making a path at night," Hange said. "But you won't be participating, and if you do, there likely wouldn't be any titans for you to fight. Our next expedition will be taking Eren to seal the wall, though, it's highly likely that the only titans we meet for you to actually fight will be Reiner and Bertholdt."

Adam nodded. He turned to leave but hesitated. "Hange...can you..."

"I can't tell you that, Adam," Hange said. "I'm truly sorry. I argued for you to be allowed to see her, but I'm sorry, you're not allowed."

Adam nodded. "Okay. Thank you for trying."

Hange nodded and Adam left. He walked out of the library and then left the building, heading to the barracks where they'd be staying for the next couple of weeks before relocating. As he walked in, Ymir was throwing a rubber ball against the opposite wall from her bed, then catching it when it bounced back.

"No luck?" Ymir asked.

"Of course not," Adam said. "Apparently Hange supports me being allowed, but Erwin and Levi, at least from what I've gathered, refused. I guess I at least know what Erwin's word is worth."

"Yeah, as long as he deems you worth keeping alive, it's worth everything," Ymir said. "The moment he decides that you're not useful, or can't be trusted, it's not worth jack shit."

"What happened to you?" Adam asked.

"He tried to tell me that I can't be with Historia, because it's not 'proper' for the queen to be romantically involved with a female," Ymir said. "Really, he doesn't trust me and doesn't want me around Historia because I might convince her to let the titans in or some such nonsense."

"He _does_ realize that Historia is literally authorized to tell him to go fuck himself, right?" Adam asked.

"He does," Ymir said before grinning. "And she did. Oh boy, she did. You should have seen it. She _exploded_. Never been more proud in my life."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Adam smiled.

Ymir nodded. "I know right? Anyway, what are you gonna do?"

"I haven't decided yet," Adam said, looking around. "What's outside of the walls? I mean really. What's out there?"

Ymir caught the ball and sighed, sitting up and staring at him. "Just more monsters."

"I'm serious Ymir," Adam said. "I need to know."

Ymir sighed heavily. "Honestly, there's an entire world out there. And...it's not nearly as empty as people think."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"There's this place," Ymir began.

* * *

Adam strapped the prototype on and twisted, testing his flexibility. It got in the way less than the normal set, however, he wouldn't be able to slash lower than a forty five degree angle without hitting the gear, not that he ever did. The gear was designed like a pair of wings extending out and downward from the hips at a forty five degree angle, and angles back slightly so it ended further behind him than in front. It was entirely metal but wasn't that much heavier than the normal gear. The wings of the gear were made of a frame designed to hold five gas tanks, with a holster for two blades in between each for a total of eight per side, Adam having only half of them filled at the moment, due to having only his crystal blades. Each tank had a small lever beside it, on the side closest to the wearer, that, when pulled, would quick release the tanks. Then, another could be slapped on and the lever lowered, and they'd be as secure as the brackets from the old type.

"They're perfect," Adam said.

"We made a couple of adjustments with the gear," Hange said. "So, your initial plans were great, but the idea of having to switch the tanks manually lessened the advantage of having all five present. So, we adapted it so that the tanks are sequenced. Each time one runs out, this lever," she pointed to a lever on each side beside Adam, "will switch to the next filled tank on its own. So long as you replace the tanks whenever they run out, you won't have to worry about it. If you run out entirely, it'll lock open, which looks like it's just sitting outside of its notches. Now, once you replace them, you have to set it back to one. I had them number everything for you so you'd know. One is inside, and then it works its way out. That way you don't have to do the more difficult ones for as long as possible."

Adam nodded. "I can already see one problem. I can't draw cross-hand anymore." He reached across his body toward the outer blade holsters and fell short after the second. "And we'll need to make a four-tank version for people with shorter arms."

Hange nodded, Moblit writing the critiques down.

Adam experimented with drawing from the same side and got the hang of it relatively easily. He just had to twist his hand inward to do it, though it was awkward on the last one. He tried flipping the handle around to reverse grip to draw them and found it was easier.

"Alright," Adam said. "I'm ready for the tests."

"Okay," Hange said. "We'll start with testing how long you can use gas without running out."

Adam nodded and took off into the trees, Hange and Moblit using their normal set to get into the branches, then watched as Adam swung around and around them using gas the entire time. Finally, after about forty minutes, he finally ran out and carefully swung down to the ground, landing lightly and ejecting the tanks, finding it easier than he expected. In front of the tanks was a metal tube on each side with a sort of intake valve where the tank would hit, except that unlike the old type where the gas tanks had to be screwed on, these were designed to be ready the moment they were in. He set new tanks in, pushing them into the intake valves until he heard a metallic click and the sound of gas filling the tube.

"That was really good!" Hange shouted from the tree. "How's it handle?"

"I think the wings give a little lift!" Adam shouted back. "I didn't feel like I was falling as fast."

Moblit wrote it down.

"Alright, let's try attacking next!" Hange said. "Go ahead and attack the targets! Try placing a blade in each of the holsters and see what you think!"

Adam did as instructed, arranging his blades to be in the most difficult slot of each holster before taking off again. He attacked several targets before putting his blades away, sending out his next cable and drawing his next blades, quickly finishing the test and swinging up to Hange.

"The blade placement is okay," Adam said. "Just takes a little getting used to. And the angle of the wings definitely helps stabilize movement."

Hange nodded as Moblit wrote it down.

"Okay," Hange nodded. "There's just a few more tests for us to run for now. Then we'll have to wait for a field test."

Adam nodded and turned, dropping off of the branch as Hange explained the next test.

* * *

Adam sat silently as Marlo babbled on and on about how great the new weapon, a system to drop a log on a titan's nape while it was trying to reach a soldier who stood just out of reach in a crystal cage, courtesy of Eren, was working at killing Titans safely. Adam had been keeping a close eye on Eren and, thankfully, Eren wasn't getting any larger an ego than he usually had. Mikasa was careful to stamp it out any time he did, not that he minded.

"Marlo," Adam finally said. "Calm down."

"Are you kidding?" Marlo asked. "Look around man! I've never seen anyone so excited."

"No you look around!" Adam snapped, Marlo falling silent instantly. "The only people who are excited right now are the guys who just transferred from the Garrison Regiment or Military Police. The ones who've never seen combat and don't know what they're even excited about."

"He's right," Jean said. "Anyone who gets excited so easily just doesn't have any actual experience."

"Hey now," a voice behind them said, everyone turning to the source, three guys that were from the same training group as Adam and the others. "That's not very nice. Do you really think of us like that? We're not that new. We all went to training together, after all."

"And why did you decide to transfer now of all times?" Jean asked.

"The Scout Regiment was short-handed and were handing out applications," one of the three, clearly the leader of their group, all three of which reeked of arrogance so badly that Adam wanted to beat the shit out of them all right then and there, said. "And not only that, they were saying things like, 'The retaking of Wall Maria is before our eyes! now is the time to rebuild society! Gather all ye soldiers.'"

Adam's hands curled into fists at the mocking tone with which he said it.

"We can't be the only ones," the guy said. "All of society is feeling the same."

"I see," Jean said.

"Would you really like to know why the Scout Regiment is short-handed?" Adam asked.

"Sure," the guy said.

"Because the seniors all died," Adam said, the guy staring at him.

"You're joking," the guy laughed. "He's joking right?"

He looked to the others, who stared at their food in silence. The guy fell silent, staring at them before clearing his throat.

"Uh, well anyway, we gotta get going," the guy said. "See you guys around."

They turned and left and Adam turned back to the table in silence.

"I guess...I only joined because the timing seemed right, too," Marlo said. "And I was acting just as excited as they were. Sorry."

"Didn't Hitch try to stop you?" Sasha asked.

"Hitch?" Marlo asked. "Why would she?"

"Because, you two are..." Sasha trailed off, Connie chuckling. "You know."

"I don't understand what you mean," Marlo said. "But Hitch _did_ tell me off for it. She said things like, 'It's not for you,' and, 'Stop trying to act cool you weakling.' Ever since we were recognized for our service during the coup, she kept saying that we could live the easy life if we stayed in the Military Police. And just when my opinion of her was starting to change. I had to tell her that I misjudged her."

"Piece of shit!" Jean said.

"Are you stupid or something?" Armin asked.

"Look at this bowl-cut bastard," Sasha said.

"What?" Eren asked. "But Marlo didn't do-"

Adam slammed a fist down on the table, Eren stopping instantly as Adam seriously contemplated how far into the wall behind Marlo he could plant Marlo's head. "Marlo. Go back to the Military Police."

"What?" Marlo asked. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. But even if I could, why the hell would I-"

"She's in love with you you fucking dumbass!" Adam snapped, Marlo's eyes widening.

"What?" Marlo blinked. "No, she's not-"

"She didn't want to live the easy life because she's lazy!" Adam interrupted. "She wanted to live the easy life _with you_ because then you'd be alive to go home to her every night! You didn't misjudge her! She just didn't want to lose you!"

"Adam," Jean said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Adam took a couple of seconds to calm down, aware that everyone in the building was staring at him, but not caring. Finally, he stood, shoving his untouched plate to Sasha before storming out.

"He's right," Jean said. "About all of it. And he's probably actually mad at you. But he was only yelling because..."

"Because he hates himself," Mikasa said, everyone at the table staring at her. "He was too afraid to tell Annie how he felt, and he was too blind to see that she was waiting for him to. So in the end, he never got the chance. He doesn't want you or Hitch to have to feel that."

Marlo stared at the table in silence for a long while before nodding.

* * *

Adam grit his teeth as the shouting and fighting began. He had had a pounding headache for days, and every time he tried to sleep it off he'd be plagued by nightmares, all of them about Stohess. Finally, as Connie and Jean tried to wrestle their table's meat away from Sasha, resulting in Sasha punching Marlo in the nose and Mikasa in the abdomen, though she barely seemed to notice, Adam snapped. He slammed both hands onto the table so loudly that everyone in the building, in which only the squad leader table was calm, went silent.

"Give...me...the meat," Adam snarled, Sasha releasing their table's meat and Jean handing it to him as he picked up a knife. He looked back at the rest of the room. "I'm going to assume that you're all still human and know how to share, yes?"

Everyone remained silent, beginning to share their servings of meat peacefully. As they did, Adam cut their meat up, passing the slices to one side, then the other and back again until everyone had gotten an equal share, except for him. He hadn't taken any. Once he was done, he stood, turning and walking out of the building in silence, feeling every eye in the room following him. Once he was out, he left to the top of the nearby wall, sitting down and staring up at the moon and stars. After several minutes, Hange knelt beside him.

"Are you alright?" Hange asked.

"What are they going to use the serum for?" Adam asked.

Hange stared at him. "How did you..."

"Because I saw it in Levi's pocket after Historia's coronation," Adam said.

Hange remained silent for a long while. "We don't know yet. Levi is in charge of deciding when, where, and how it should be used."

"There's enough there for several people to be transformed," Adam said. "It only takes a little. Historia said Reiss turned from what he licked off of the ground."

"I know," Hange said.

"He's going to try and have Annie eaten, isn't he?" Adam asked.

Hange remained silent for a long while. "Annie is a very valuable source of information. They're not going to kill her while we could still learn from her."

"Except that we _can't_ learn from her," Adam said. "She's comatose. And besides that, how valuable will she still be if we reach Eren's basement and find out the truth? Who's to say we won't know enough for Annie's information to become useless?"

Hange didn't answer. She sighed, setting a plate with some meat, bread, and salad on it. Then, she stood.

"Why don't they trust me to see Annie?" Adam asked. "Are they really so determined to execute her whenever she wakes up that they're afraid that if I see her I'll talk them out of it?

Hange stared at him for a moment before turning back to the front. "Yes."

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Final Battle

Adam looked around and around. They had been in Shiganshina long enough that they had gone all the way around the outside, and Eren had sealed the outer gate already. And yet, there wasn't a single titan inside Shiganshina, the town just inside the inner gate from Shiganshina, or anywhere in view outside of Wall Maria. There was nothing. Currently, he was waiting with Erwin at Erwin's request. Armin was in charge of a large group who were searching around the inner gate for any of the apparent three people that had been on top of the wall and had had a minimum of five minutes prior to their arrival to hide, according to Erwin. Which meant either they had had scouts, or they had a spy. The thing was, Erwin had made sure Ymir stayed behind with Historia, and with a fair number of scouts, Garrison Regiment troops and Military Police as guards, mostly against Ymir.

"Sir, something's wrong," Adam said finally, Erwin nodding. "No, I mean, there's something really, _really_ wrong. I can't figure out why, but I feel like...I can't breathe."

Erwin glanced at him just as Armin fired off an acoustic shell, signaling he had found a sign of the enemy. He retreated to the top of the wall as the others all gathered.

"Did you find something?" Erwin asked.

"Everyone, search the wall!" Armin said.

"I told you, we already did!" one of the scouts said.

"They're _inside_ the wall!" Armin said. "There must be a space where a human can stay for an extended period of time!"

Adam stared at him, then down at the wall, leaning over to look down at the face of it.

"How do you know?" the scout asked.

"It's a hunch," Armin said.

"Do you know what kind of situation we're in?" the scout demanded.

"Armin!" Adam said, Armin and the scout both turning to him. "If they want to be able to keep track of Eren, they'd have to be facing the outer gate and close enough to the inner gate to see Eren coming back, right?"

"Yes," Armin nodded just as Erwin fired a flare into the air to warn everyone to halt the operation.

"Everyone, stick to the basics you were taught as soldiers," Erwin said. "Follow the chain of command and do as you are ordered."

"Split into two group again and search the surface of the wall!" Armin said. "You're looking for hollow spots!"

Adam moved to drop off of the wall with the rest of them only for Erwin to catch his shoulder.

"You wait," Erwin said. "I'd like to keep you as reserve until we are forced to face the Armored Titan."

Just then, someone shouted that they'd found a hollow spot, only for Reiner to suddenly appear out of the wall, stabbing him. Almost instantly, Levi was off, stabbing Reiner through the neck sideways instantly, then through the abdomen just below the ribs. However, before he could kill him, he stopped, retreating.

"Dammit!" Levi swore. "I was so close. But I wasn't able to end his life."

Then, there was an explosion as Reiner transformed. Adam looked to Erwin and he nodded. Adam nodded as well, drawing his swords and preparing to sprint forward. As he did, Erwin raised a hand.

"Check all around us!" Erwin shouted. "Capture any other enemies!"

Then, there was a massive series of blasts behind them as a line of titans rose behind them, the Beast Titan in the center, and dozens more titans in the line. They were inside of Wall Maria, about two hundred meters from anything tall enough to use as a decent anchor point for ODM gear. Adam sighed, looking between the line of titans, then the armored titan. Finally, her sighed, turning toward Reiner.

"Captain Levi!" Adam shouted. "Catch!"

He dropped two of his blades and Levi caught them, swapping them out for his.

"Don't break those!" Adam shouted. "Commander, permission to engage the titans to our rear?"

"Granted," Erwin said. "They'll be going after our horses. Protect them at all cost."

Adam nodded and dropped off of the wall, sending out a cable and swinging down into the town below as the Beast Titan slammed a fist down, dozens of two to five meter titans charging into the town. Adam swung through the streets, reaching the first and flipping over it, killing it before turning and dealing with another. After several more kills, he landed on a rooftop as Levi spun past, killing several in a row. He landed on another rooftop and tossed Adam's blades back, Adam putting them away.

"Erwin decided he wanted me fighting the Beast Titan, since his exact abilities are unknown," Levi said. "Plus, he didn't think you could handle so many without some more helping hands. I brought a few."

Adam looked back as one of the squads that had been searching the wall swung past, tearing into the small titans.

"Should we head for the bigger ones now?" Adam asked.

"Not yet," Levi said. "There's still a lot of small fries. And I don't want anyone to die today."

"Fair enough," Adam said. "Let's go."

Levi nodded and they took off, heading in opposite directions and slaughtering any titans they met rapidly. As Adam killed the last one near him, he landed, hearing multiple explosions go off in the distance. He stopped, looking back toward the wall. It sounded like Hange's new anti-Reiner weapons, the Thunder Spears. Explosive spears theoretically capable of punching through his armor. He hoped they worked. Though, he was kind of disappointed he couldn't settle the score with Reiner. He looked around just as a two meter titan jumped, tackling him off of the roof to the ground, pinning him. He growled, kicking its arms and all but throwing himself out from under it. Then, he slammed his feet into its abdomen and heaved, hurling it away from himself. He was glad it was only a two meter. Any bigger and he'd be dead. As soon as he was free, he stood just in time for Levi to kill it.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked.

"Yeah," Adam nodded, grabbing his dangling swords. "Thanks."

Levi nodded and looked past Adam, Adam turning, seeing the Beast Titan watching them from outside the town. Just as he saw him, Reiner roared. A moment later, the Beast Titan reached over, grabbing and hurling a barrel over the wall. Adam felt his body go numb instantly. He threw Bertholdt. Bertholdt's explosion from transforming was massive. It would level a huge portion of Shiganshina.

"Shit," Adam breathed.

However, nothing happened. Adam and Levi glanced at each other before shrugging.

"I guess Bertholdt couldn't do it," Levi said.

"I doubt he just splatted int he street," Adam said. "Helpful as that would be."

"Agreed," Levi said. "Get ready. We might be up against the big ones in a minute."

Adam nodded. "I'm ready."

Levi nodded, as they turned away from the town. There were still a few small ones left, so Levi and Adam set about taking them down. They made quick work of them, the titans having worked their way inward pretty close to them now. As they moved to kill the last one, they saw the other coming as well and by unspoken consent, both held out one sword, passing each other and both making a cut, the titan dropping as soon as they did. They both landed on a building just as a massive explosion went off in the center of Shiganshina, a massive mushroom cloud appearing instantly.

Then, as if on cue, hundreds of chunks of stone entered their vision from all sides, streaking past them from the Beast Titan. They spun, bracing themselves to be hit, only to escape harm, staring at the massive impact where the boulder he had thrown had hit, killing a half dozen troops the scattered debris killing more.

"Shit!" Adam swore. "We need cover, now!"

Levi nodded in agreement as the titan picked up another, breaking it in half and dropping half of it. Suddenly, the Beast Titan held the chunk in both hands, pulling them back behind his head, lifted his left leg, then stepped forward with it as he turned so his left side was toward them and his right arm held the stone. Then, he hurled it. Except, it wasn't a single chunk. He was throwing boulders the size of Adam's head, pebbles to him, but maybe a hundred at once. Adam and Levi retreated deeper into the town and behind the thickest, sturdiest buildings they could find. Then, they waited as the town between them and the Beast Titan was decimated.

"Let's go!" Levi said, both he and Adam retreating toward the wall, warning anyone they met to do the same.

As they finally arrived, Erwin landed in front of them.

"How's the situation?" Levi asked.

"It couldn't be worse," Erwin said. "If that titan keeps throwing stones, this place will be leveled in no time."

"Could we retreat over the wall?" Levi asked.

"No," Erwin said. "The Colossal Titan is closing in on us, and setting fire to anything and everything around him, too."

"What about Hange's squad?" Levi asked. "And are Eren and the others okay?"

"I don't know," Erwin said. "But it looked like they were all caught up in the blast. We've suffered massive losses. The Beast Titan must have been controlling the smaller titans to draw our soldiers and horses out toward the front. Because of that, Dirk, Marlene, and Klaus squads seem to have been wiped out by the earlier bombardment. In other words, the only remaining survivors inside of Wall Maria are you Scout Regiment recruits, Captain Levi, Adam, and myself."

Just then, stones began to crash into the buildings just barely two rows out from them. They'd be next.

"Erwin, it's all over," Levi said. "Do you have some kind of plan?"

Just then, there was a deafening crash behind them and they turned, seeing Eren lying at the top of the wall, out cold. Adam stared at him before sighing.

"Commander, I may be able to draw the Beast Titan's attention if I go and start killing the larger titans," Adam said.

"He'd kill you with a bombardment," Levi said. "Besides, the only thing to grapple to out there is the titans themselves."

"I know," Adam said. "But if we don't do something, everyone here will die. Without the horses, we won't be able to get back, except maybe with Eren carrying us. But, if we stay out here, we'll die. Better to take our chances inside the wall. If I can draw the Beast Titan's fire for a moment, you can all retreat into Shiganshina."

Erwin was silent for a long while before sighing and nodding. Adam turned, jetting away with his gas, pulling out his signal flared and firing them into the remains of the houses, the smoke rapidly spreading and obscuring the town. Then, he flipped, landing on the first titan and killing it, taking off along the titans. He had killed three more before the Beast Titan hurled the first volley.

 _Annie, please, wait for me,_ Adam thought, landing on a titan's head then jetting backward as fast as he could, the rocks slaughtering a dozen of the titans along that side, one rock smashing the left side of his ODM gear, sending him flipping to the ground in a heap. However, his blades had stayed in the holsters that remained, and he still had a single gas tank on that side. Hange had thought to make sure there was a one-way valve between each tank incase the hose broke, and he was glad for it now. However, that had been too close for comfort.

He looked back at the wall, seeing them all fleeing over it. He smiled. His plan had worked. He looked to the Beast Titan again just as horses exploded out of the smoke screen he had made them, charging at him. He paused, turning to look just as they peppered him with smoke flares. Adam turned, heading for the Beast Titan. He didn't have long. His one remaining gas tank on the left was the one he had been using the entire time. He sped along, killing the titans as he went. As he got the chance, he glanced to the side. He saw Erwin, just as Erwin was hit in the side and went down hard. He could see the arrogant recruit that had been saying they were much more junior to Adam and the others. But he didn't see Marlo. Adam turned back to the front, slaughtering several more titans as the Beast Titan threw two more volleys, wiping out the remaining recruits that were charging. Then, he saw Levi reach the Beast Titan, spinning as he passed the Beast Titan's arm, slicing it a half dozen times as he passed it. As he swung around, the Beast Titan covered the nape of his neck, so Levi took out his eyes as Adam landed below him then jumped, spinning and shredding both legs as Levi had the arm, before jetting away, stopping his spin. The Beast Titan crashed to the ground and Levi shredded his other arm. Then, Adam landed on his shoulders, slashing a diamond into the back, cutting the nape out completely, a blonde man with a full beard and long blonde hair to sit up, Adam instantly removing both arms just above the elbow before Levi landed in front of the man, driving his sword into his mouth to keep him from biting anything.

"Transforming into a titan puts an enormous strain on the body, right?" Levi asked. "And because of that, you can't transform when you're healing. Isn't that right?"

When the man didn't answer due to the sword in his mouth, Levi shoved the sword deeper, driving it up through his head and out his right eye.

"Hey, answer me," Levi said. "Don't you have any answers?"

"You were all supposed to retreat," Adam said.

"Erwin decided you were too valuable to be allowed to die," Levi said.

Just then, the quadruped titan that had been beside the Beast Titan leapt at them, Levi and Adam scattering, the titan grabbing the Beast Titan's human body in its mouth and sprinting away.

"Shit!" Adam swore. "Should I go after it?"

"No," Levi said, wiping some blood off the side of his face. "For now, we need to find survivors."

Adam nodded and they hurried to the recruits, beginning to check them all as quickly as they could. Shockingly, there were a lot of them alive. At least, compared to what they had feared. In total, maybe fifteen of the forty that had attacked had lived. And Levi said that another ten or fifteen had gone over the wall to try and help anyone still fighting the Colossal Titan, including Marlo. Then, they found Erwin. His left side had a gapping chunk missing from it, but he was still alive.

"Erwin!" Levi gasped, kneeling and taking off his cloak, pressing it to the wound to sty and slow the bleeding, Adam using his own to tie it in place, useless as it was.

"Captain Levi," Adam said. "That titan's heading back toward Shiganshina. He's going after Eren."

Levi looked up then back down at Erwin.

Adam shoved a pair of crystal blades into his hands, as his own were already dulled, and Levi stumbled backward. "Go! Now!"

Levi blinked before nodding, turning and sprinting away. Adam looked to several of the recruits nearby who ran over, helping him lift Erwin and all running back toward the wall. As they arrived, Adam saw that his horse, along with a handful of others, were still at the base of the wall. He paused to pet his horse before launching himself up to the top of the wall, seeing the quadruped titan retreating from where Eren was holding Bertholdt with his sword to his throat. Adam smiled. They had beaten him. They had won. He took Erwin from the others, sitting him on his back, on his ODM gear's wings, having the recruits tie him on, then dropped off the wall, carefully swinging down to land beside Levi, just as he was about to hand Eren the injection. Adam stopped, staring at a scorched and unrecognizable body.

"Who...is that?" Adam asked.

"It's Armin!" Eren said.

Adam untied Erwin, setting him down gently, looking between them, then at Bertholdt. Mikasa was off to the side, tears running down her face.

"Do we have Reiner in custody?" Adam asked.

"Yes," Mikasa nodded. "But there's only one injection."

"It doesn't need much," Adam said. "Only a little. Reiss licked some off the ground and changed."

Levi stared at him and Mikasa pointed.

"Reiner's that way," Mikasa said.

"Don't inject anyone yet," Adam said, then dropped off the building, sending out both cables and using his gas to send himself high into the sky.

Just as he did, he saw the quadruped titan grab Reiner, nearly killing Hange in the process, then take off. Adam swore. He couldn't catch them. He turned back, landing on the roof beside Mikasa and shook his head.

"The Beast Titan rescued Reiner," Adam said. "We only have Bertholdt."

"And Annie," Levi said, Adam stiffening, staring at him in disbelief.

Was he serious? In front of Adam? He really just said that? Was she that close?

"The choice needs to be made," Mikasa said. "Save Armin!"

"We still need the commander," Levi said. "He will save humanity!"

"We need Armin!" Eren said. "He's saved us time and again! The hole in trost was sealed with a bolder because he suggested it! We discovered Annie's identity because of him, he exposed Reiner and Bertholdt, we came up with the idea to come here at night because of Armin! It's not me or Erwin that will save the world! It's Armin!"

Levi shoved Eren back, then slammed a fist into him, hurling him away. Mikasa tackled him instantly, putting a sword to his throat.

"Give me the syringe!" Mikasa shrieked, tears flooding down her face now. "I'll do it myself!"

Just then, Hange landed behind her, grabbing her and leaping backward.

"That's enough Mikasa!" Hange shouted. "I understand! It's hard to lose the people you care about! I've been through it! Over the years, I've experienced it countless times! Every day brings a new farewell! But eventually, everyone you love will be taken from you! And all we can do is move forward."

Mikasa stopped struggling as Levi stood.

"Please captain," Eren said, standing. "Have...have you ever heard of the ocean? It's like a lake, only it's so big it reaches the horizon. And it's all made out of salt water. Armin...it was Armin's dream to see it. It was his only dream! But I couldn't see it. All I had left in me was hate. Revenge for my mother. Wiping out the titans. But Armin was different. Violence isn't the only thing he has! He has dreams! Please!"

"Soldiers, clear out," Levi said after several moments. "Commander Erwin is going to transform into a titan and eat Bertholdt."

Eren fell to his knees and Adam walked over, helping him up and leaving the rooftop with him, setting him beside Mikasa. Then, he turned, watching as Levi moved to inject Erwin only to stop then inject Armin instead. Then, he retreated to them with Erwin.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Can't we just...let him rest?" Levi asked. "He chose to become the devil solely because we asked him to. And then, we were going to drag him right back into hell. Can't we just...let him go? Let him finally leave this hell?"

Adam looked to Armin just as he bit Bertholdt in half. Then, he collapsed, his human body, fully restored, sitting up from the back of the neck, Eren and the other recruits all going to pull him free. Adam stopped a short distance away, looking to Levi, seeing the syringe and a half-full bottle of serum in his hands. He swallowed hard. So he was serious. He fully intended to do it. Adam grit his teeth, turning back to Armin. Fine. If Levi had made his decision, then Adam had made his.

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Truth

Adam watched as Eren moved to unlock the door, only to stop.

"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked.

"Open the door Eren," Hange said.

"This...isn't the key to this door," Eren said.

"Move," Levi said. "I'll open it."

And with that, he kicked the door inward, shattering the wood as he did.

"Hey!" Hange said. "Calm down!"

Levi ignored her, walking into the basement, the others following. Levi and Hange began to search the bottles lying around the room and the books on the shelves respectively while Adam searched the desk.

"These bottles...according to the label they're just widely available medications," Levi said.

"And these are just basic medical books," Hange said.

"I don't see any hidden compartments or trick drawers," Adam said, pulling on the last drawer only for it to refuse to open. He stopped, leaning down to look and spotting a keyhole. "Eren. There's a keyhole here."

Eren walked over, pushing the key in and twisting, unlocking the drawer and pulling it out, but it was empty.

"Empty?" Eren blinked. "But..."

"Hold on," Adam said. "It's a false bottom. The drawer should be almost double that depth."

He reached in, pressing on the back right corner, the opposite one popping up, Levi lifting it out. Below the panel were three books.

"This smells like peppermint oil and charcoal," Levi said.

"They've been treated to keep moisture and bugs away," Hange said. "Three books."

"This must be what we're looking for," Levi said.

"What could my father have wanted to show me?" Eren asked, setting one of the books on the desk, Mikasa reaching out and resting her hand on it.

Together, they opened the book. On the inside of the cover was a picture of a man, woman, and child, except, it wasn't drawn. It was too perfect for that. And the surface was waxy and a little stiff.

"Is this a portrait?" Eren asked.

"No," Levi said. "It's too perfect for a human to have drawn it."

"It's covered by some kind of film too," Adam said, feeling the picture for a moment.

Eren turned it over and stared at the message on the back.

"This is not an illustration," the message read. "It is an imprint of reflected light left on a special kind of paper. It is called a photograph. I came from beyond the walls where humanity enjoys a refined existence. Humanity has not gone extinct."

Adam stared at it. They already knew that. The part about reflected light was confusing and new information, but they knew humanity still existed. Eren put the picture back in its holder and turned the page, beginning to read. It was written, apparently, by Grisha Jaeger, Eren's father. It was a retelling of his life. As a child, he and his sister left an internment camp for Eldians, a race of humans who had the ability to turn into titans when injected with titan spinal fluid, then also the ability to possess the powers of the nine intelligent titans, in order to see a "blimp," a balloon that flew using giant fans and a type of gas that allowed it to float. Grisha was then punished and sent home, but his sister was fed to dogs by the Marleyan Public Security Authorities, Marley's military. Grisha was then told by his father that Eldians were heinous criminals by blood because their ancestor, Ymir Fritz, had made a deal with the devil and gained the power of titans, namely, the Founding Titan. Then, she had died and nine new titans were born, these nine being used by Eldia, the Eldian nation, had used the power of the nine titans to conquer and oppress the country of Marley. Then, they spent over a thousand years pillaging, slaughtering, and forcing Marleyan females to have their children.

After being told this, Grisha spent the next decade living a quiet life as a doctor, eventually taking over his father's clinic. When he did, however, he was approached by a group called the Eldia Restorationists. They recruited him and he soon became one of the leaders of the group. The group had a spy, the owl, within the Marleyan government, and he gave them classified information, such as Ymir Fritz doing a long list of great things using the power of the Founding Titan, all of it bringing wealth and joy to everyone. Eventually, a woman, Dina Fritz, direct descendent of Ymir Fritz, joined, explaining that Marley had caused a civil war within Eldia, and that the one hundred forty fifth Fritz King had refused to fight, and left to Paradis Island, the island where Adam and the others lived. When he left, he took the Founding Titan with him, and only Dina's branch family remained. The rest of the nation soon fell to Marley, as they had two of the titans serving them.

Grisha later had a child with Dina, and as they raised him, Marley began to make advances with their military, including machines that could fly, called planes, and armored boats that ran on something called Fossil Fuels, like coal and oil. As a result, Marley decided to retrieve the Founding Titan from Paradis Island, around the same time as the Eldia Restorationists decided to retrieve and use the Founding Titan to overthrow Marley. The problem was that King Fritz had left a warning that if Marley attacked them, the _tens of millions_ of Colossal Titans making up the walls Adam and the others lived in would destroy the Earth. SO, Marley came up with a plan. Train warriors from the remaining, oppressed, Eldian population of Marley, known as the Subjects of Ymir, and grant them the seven Intelligent Titan powers that Marley possessed.

Grisha and Dina decided to have their son, Zeke, do it, but Zeke turned them and the rest of the Restorationists in. All of them were brought to the edge of Paradis and everyone but Grisha was turned into a titan, including Dina Fritz, who turned out to be the Smiling Titan that had killed Eren's mother, ironically. Before Grisha was turned, however, one of the Marleyan Public Security Authority officers, Eren Krueger, revealed himself as the Owl, and the wielder of the power of the Attack Titan. He used it to save Grisha, only to then tell him that Grisha would inherit the Attack Titan, enter the walls, and reclaim the Founding Titan. He then also told Grisha of the "Curse of Ymir," a shortened lifespan for anyone who obtained the power of a titan. They would live thirteen years after obtaining it, no exceptions. And if the power wasn't obtained before they died, an infant born of the Subject of Ymir, regardless of distance or blood relations, would inherit the powers automatically.

Once he had finished explaining everything and convincing Grisha to continue fighting, he transformed Grisha into a titan, then sacrificed himself to pass on the Attack Titan. And from there, they already knew the rest. Before going to Shiganshina, they had gone to see the former Commander of the Scout Regiment from before Erwin, now the head commander of the Training Division, Shadis. That had been a shock, but Shadis had been equally shocked when Levi himself had said Adam was one of the most skilled of the class. Shadis had known Grisha, and had told them about meeting Grisha outside the wall, teaching him about life inside, believing he had amnesia, and then about Grisha being a doctor, stealing the love of Shadis's life, having Eren, and then turning Eren into the Attack Titan.

"What about the other two?" Levi asked.

"We'll read them when we get back," Hange said. "It should be getting late and we still need to rest before we head back."

Levi nodded and they all left the basement, meeting the others on the wall and all beginning to rest. Then, at sunset, they set off for home with what few horses remained.

* * *

Adam sat silently as Zachary spoke.

"The individuals in this room are the only people who know of the existence of these three books," Zachary said. "'The Early Life of Grisha Jaeger,' 'The Extent of Our Knowledge About Titans and Their History,' and 'Information About the World Beyond the Walls.' We owe their retrieval to the thirty five soldiers who are here today, and to the one hundred seventy four who are not. Their heroics deserve to be praised for millennia to come. A place to do just that, as well as to bury the fallen will be set aside at a later date. But today, I would like to share information here in the presence of the Queen, and develop a joint strategy for the future. Scout Regiment Commander Hange Zoe, what do you make of the situation?"

Hange stood. "In exchange for the loss of many heroes, including Erwin Smith, we of the Scout Regiment were able to successfully seal Wall Maria, defeat the Colossal Titan, and take its power. However, we humans inside the walls continue to be in an extremely dangerous situation. We would count ourselves lucky if the titans were our only enemies. Sadly, the true enemy we have been fighting all along, is humanity. Civilization. Or rather, the world. According to these notes, we are the Subjects of Ymir, a special race from the kingdom of Eldia with the power to become titans. These Subjects of Ymir once ruled the world, and could possibly rule it again. That is why the world attempts to eradicate us, the Subjects of Ymir. If the Founding Titan falls into Marley's hands, they will no longer have any use for the Eldians in the Internment Zones, spelling the end for all Eldians, whether on the island or on the continent. Grisha Jaeger, Eren Jaeger's father, was given the mission of retrieving the Founding Titan in order to keep Marley from possessing it by Eren Krueger, the wielder of Eren's Titan Power two incarnations ago. Mr. Jaeger infiltrated our walls , then accomplished that mission. But, Mr. Krueger didn't know what the vow renouncing war meant. We now know what it is. The true power of the Founding Titan can only be used if it resides within someone of the royal bloodline. However, if that power _does_ reside within anyone of the royal bloodline, they will be consumed by the will of the one hundred forty fifth king, leaving them with no choice but to take their lives. I dare say this is what the vow renouncing war does."

"I would say that the only way to resist such a powerful enemy would be to use the true power of the Founding Titan to activate the Wall Titans," Zachary said, Adam tensing momentarily as he thought of exactly how many that was. "However, you're saying this is impossible so long as we have this vow renouncing war?"

"No," Hange said, glancing at Eren.

"In the past, Eren has controlled pure titans in order to escape from perilous situations," Hange said. "We still don't know why he was able to use that power. But there is a possibility that even Eren, who is not from the royal bloodline, is able to use the founding titan."

"Could it be!?" Eren suddenly shouted, jumping up before falling silent.

You startled me," Hange said. "What's the matter all of a sudden?"

"Uh...um...I just..." Eren blinked, trying to figure out a lie.

"Speak freely, our titan," Zachary said.

"It's...nothing," Eren finally said, sitting down. "Sorry for causing a disturbance."

"What?" Levi asked.

"I apologize for interrupting the meeting," Eren said.

"Oh," Hange said, not believing a word out of his mouth. "Alright. I see. It seems that he is going through a _phase_. One where he strikes a specific pose or mouths off for no reason."

"Ah, I see," Zachary said. "That's unfortunate to hear. He's getting to be that age."

Adam leaned back in his seat, remaining silent and beginning to only half listen to the conversation. He knew they were arguing about whether or not to tell the rest of the people in the walls the truth. Eventually, Historia ordered the truth be revealed to the people. And just like that, the meeting was over. Adam was the first out the door, and was out of the building before anyone felt the need to chase after him.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Searching

"I know why it was you that got picked in the end, Armin," Flotch, the arrogant recruit Adam still hated, who had miraculously been one of the ones to survive the Beast Titan's attack, was saying. "It's because Eren and Mikasa, and Even Levi, all let their personal feelings get the best of them, then took the injection for themselves and gave it to you instead of Erwin. That's why you didn't give up, Eren. Just like a child who wanted to get his own way."

"What did you just say?" Eren snarled, Mikasa catching his shoulder.

"It's alright, Eren," Mikasa said.

"At least you acted like an adult in the end, Mikasa," Flotch said. "You gave up."

Mikasa released Eren, but before Eren could kill Flotch, Adam grabbed Flotch by the back of his neck, squeezing as much flesh as he could fit in his hand until Flotch had his teeth clenched and tears running out of his eyes. Adam also held Flotch's right hand with his own, keeping it twisted around and bent so that Flotch's arm was locked in a straight position at his side and his wrist was on the verge of snapping.

"All I'd have to do is flex my hand, and you'd lose the ability to use yours," Adam hissed. "It'd disconnect so completely that you'd probably have to have it amputated. Joints can only heal so much, you see. So, you _fucking piece of shit_ , how about you drop this conversation, _right fucking now_ , and I don't take your hand off and shove it so far up your ass you'll have to clear your throat to shake hands!"

Flotch nodded, barely able to move his head even a little due to Adam's grip on the back of his neck. Adam released him and Flotch stumbled away, clutching at his wrist.

"I was just telling the truth!" Flotch said, Adam glancing at the other military in the room, seeing them all watching. "Besides, you and the others, you're no better! You didn't defy your superiors, but you didn't try to stop Eren and Mikasa either! You just stood by! What are the medals for? Who's the memorial for? You'd better tell the new recruits that are about to join the truth or you might have a bunch of cowards like me joining by accident!"

Adam snarled, taking a step forward only for Jean to catch him, holding him back.

"Adam, stop, it's not worth it!" Jean growled, Connie helping him hold Adam back.

"What are you all going to do now that you let Erwin die?" Flotch continued. "I may just be a piece of titan fodder, my only purpose may be to be expendable, but even a piece of fodder should at least have the right to call it like he sees it!"

"I'll break him in half!" Adam snarled.

However, before he could, Marlo stepped up beside Flotch, drilling his fist into Flotch's gut and dropping him, then picked him back up by the front of his jacket.

"You listen, and you listen well," Marlo growled. "You have no right, none at all, to say that they were in the wrong for deciding to save Armin and not Erwin. And you have no right to say that you can't call it like you see it. You did exactly that before the charge. You called Erwin out on the truth of his tactics, and when he gave us the opportunity to retreat behind the wall and live, you chose to charge anyway. I was there too, remember? We _both_ survived that charge. But unlike you, I was able to see what happened when Levi chose who to save. He was _going_ to save Erwin. But Erwin pulled his arm away. Levi _didn't_ choose who to save. Commander Erwin chose Armin as his successor. So you shut your mouth about things you don't know anything about before I help Adam teach you how to hold your tongue."

Flotch stared at him in shock as Marlo set him on the ground and shoved him, Flotch falling onto his rear as Levi arrived.

"Hey you brats," Levi said. "It's time. Line up."

They all nodded, taking their places kneeling before Historia. The only scout _not_ getting a medal was Ymir, though Adam doubted she cared about that. She had all she needed. She had Historia. Adam didn't care about the medal either. But he had no choice but to accept it. He couldn't very well have Levi figuring out his choice, could he? He accepted his medal, a small rope necklace with the two ends through a small disk with the Scout Regiment's crest on the face, and kissed Historia's hand, making sure to wink at Ymir as he did, Ymir rolling her eyes. Then, it was Eren's turn, Eren performing the same gesture everyone else had, only to suddenly freeze, eyes wide with shock and teeth clenched, his hand gripping Historia's tightly, though she did well at hiding the fact that it was anything unusual. She pulled her hand away and Eren blinked, nodding slightly, and Historia moved on to the next person.

* * *

Adam rode his horse across the grass in silence. He had been searching the inside of Wall Rose for nearly six months. Nothing. Anywhere. He had spent ever waking moment of his days off searching and had yet to find anything. Not in Stohess, not in Trost, not in Orvud, not in any of the districts. And he had yet to find anything in the open area between Rose and Sina either, though that wasn't entirely surprising given the massive amount of area.

He sighed, turning around and heading back for the night. Tomorrow, they would be training again. He had gained a certain level of trust with Levi. Enough that Levi left him and Mikasa to train everyone else in hand-to-hand combat. Of course, he didn't pass on Annie's techniques to them. Those weren't his to teach. The basic ones, sure. But he mostly taught the same techniques they had been trained to use already. Of course, if they began to talk about how pointless his training was, he'd use those techniques to fight Jean, or Eren, or Mikasa. His fighting had improved drastically, even without using Annie's techniques. So he could beat everyone but Mikasa and Levi. And he was good enough with the basic training ones that the recruits he was training eventually stopped complaining about him teaching them. He sighed. What he wouldn't give to have his own teacher back.

* * *

Adam stood in the water, feeling the warm water lapping at his feet. The others were playing in it, Jean tried drinking it, Armin stared at it in joy. But not Adam. He felt no joy from having reached the ocean barely a year after Trost. He felt no joy at knowing that the titans within Wall Maria, that their Titan Guillotine had finally wiped out after a year, had been literally every titan on the island besides Connie's mother and a single titan outside the alls that could barely move and had been dragging itself toward the walls since it was first transformed, barely having made it halfway after all that time. They had put it out of its misery, then moved on to the ocean.

"It's so beautiful," Ymir said, stepping up beside him.

"No," Adam said. "It's not beautiful. "It's just...in the way."

He turned, walking away from the water, and Ymir could only stare after him.

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Located

Adam leaned against the chimney, watching as Armin walked along the street of Stohess. He narrowed his eyes as Armin headed for the Garrison HQ.

"Where are you going?" Adam mumbled. "You're on a day off, Armin. Who are you visiting?"

He pushed off of the chimney, dropping to the ground and walking after Armin. Once Armin was in the building, Adam gave it a few seconds before following, seeing Armin disappear into a doorway on the far side. He followed, finding a long hallway that turned to the left, ending with a heavy oak door that looked like it'd be hard to break down. Armin spoke to the guard at the end for several seconds before the guard opened the door, revealing a winding staircase at the bottom. Adam watched Armin walk into it before the door was closed again. Adam turned, walking away. He had found her at last.

He reached the door and pushed it open. Three minutes from the corner at a calm walk. One to the corner from the door at a walk. Fifteen minutes from the Garrison HQ to the wall where his horse waited on the other side. Two minutes to get to his horse. Twenty one minutes moving calmly. And he couldn't escape with only one set of ODM gear. But the guard hadn't been wearing one. He had only had a rifle.

Adam turned turned his horse toward the gate and spurred it forward. He'd have another day off in three days. He needed to get everything ready. So, he headed through Stohess and continued on to the capital.

* * *

Ymir sighed contentedly, hand gently stroking over Historia's hair as she lay with her head on Ymir's shoulder. Historia smiled, wrapping her arms tighter around Ymir, turning her head slightly and kissing the side of Ymir's neck, Ymir chuckling.

"If you're not careful, you'll get me going all over again," Ymir warned, hand trailing down over Historia's bare back and then back up.

"That's alright," Historia smiled. "I can handle you."

Ymir smiled, kissing her, only to stop as someone knocked on the door, hard. Ymir growled in annoyance, slipping out of bed. "Somebody had better be fucking dying."

She pulled on a loose pair of pants and a loose shirt, Historia slipping her robe on and covering herself before pulling the blanket up to her neck as well. Ymir cracked the door open, seeing Adam and sighed.

"What?" Ymir asked. "You're interrupting."

"I found her," Adam said, Ymir freezing for a moment before groaning and setting her forehead against the door frame. "I need a set of ODM gear."

Ymir groaned again, more loudly this time. "First I need to know your decision."

"I'm going to save Annie," Adam said. "That's my decision."

Ymir watched him for several seconds before sighing and nodding. "Alright. There's a storage room downstairs where the old ODM gear is being kept. From the foot of the stairs, take the hallway on your left and it's at the end."

Adam nodded, turning to leave, only for Ymir to catch his sleeve.

"Adam," Ymir said before hesitating. "I'll see you for training in a week, alright?"

Adam remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I'll see you in a week."

Ymir nodded and Adam turned, walking away from the door, Ymir watching him go before closing the door and leaning back against it, sighing.

"He's going to be charged with treason," Historia said.

"I know," Ymir nodded. "But if it was me trapped in that crystal, would you do anything different?"

Historia sighed, shaking her head. "No. I'd do whatever it took to free you."

Ymir nodded, walking back to the bed and dropping onto it, groaning. "Dammit. I just wanted to have a day of nothing but sex with my girlfriend."

Historia smiled, leaning down and kissing Ymir on the back of the neck before laying down beside her, Ymir rolling over to face her. "Who said you couldn't have that?"

Ymir grinned, pulling Historia to her.

* * *

Adam pushed the door open, finding shelves upon shelves of gear, along with a pile of it at the back. He walked over, picking up a set of the gear from the floor and turning back to the door, stopping as he found Hitch standing in the doorway, staring at him.

"What...are you doing?" Hitch asked.

"Hange wants one to experiment on," Adam said.

"I see," Hitch said. "I assume you asked Historia."

"Yeah," Adam nodded.

"I see," Hitch nodded. "I never really thanked you, you know."

"For what?" Adam said.

"Marlo said that it was you yelling at him that made him realize he cared about me," Hitch smiled. "He also gave you credit for allowing him to survive the expedition. So, I have Marlo thanks to you."

Adam nodded. "No problem."

"Do me a favor," Hitch said as Adam walked past her, stopping him. "Tell her I said hello. And that I'm sorry we were never friends."

Adam stared at her before nodding and turning, walking away. "I don't know why Hange will care, but sure. I'll tell her."

"Right," Hitch smiled. "Hange."

* * *

Adam walked into the room and stopped, seeing Hange, Levi, and Sasha sitting in the room, Sasha with tears running down her face.

"What's...going on?" Adam asked.

"We've reached a decision, and Hange ordered me to tell you," Levi said. "We've been discussing who to pass on Annie's abilities to. We know from Ymir that it has to be a female. Our first choice was Mikasa, but Eren threatened to go on a rampage if we tried it. So we've spent the last six months deciding who our second-best option was. In the end, we chose Sasha."

"So that's it?" Adam asked. "You're going to force Sasha to kill Annie?"

"We are," Levi nodded.

"And you're not going to let me say goodbye, are you?" Adam asked.

"No," Levi said. "You're not allowed anywhere near her."

"I don't know how I'd ever know where I'm not supposed to go since no one will fucking tell me where she is," Adam said, looking to Hange. "It's funny, though. I could have sworn I heard you say that you supported letting me see her."

"I have to assume that Erwin had a good reason for not allowing you," Hange said. "So, as his successor, I have to have faith in his decision."

Adam grit his teeth. "I see. Well, I'm so glad I joined the Scout Regiment. Just look at all of the great things that have happened since I joined. By the way, Levi, congratulations on you engagement. I'm glad you were able to save Petra when Annie was after Eren that time. Oh, wait, you didn't. You'd have let her die."

Levi was in front of him before he had even realized he had moved. However, when Levi swung, Adam reacted fast enough, managing to avoid the punch and slam one of his own into the side of Levi's face. Sasha and Hange shouted in fear instantly, both backing away as Levi turned on Adam, death in his eyes, Adam bearing the same expression. And then, they were brawling. Adam wasn't sure who landed more blows, but neither of them bothered to block the other's. And Adam was proud to note that he actually managed to pack enough of his pent up hatred into his blows for Levi to feel it. However, after far longer than Adam expected himself to last, a pair of arms yanked both of them away from each other, a blade pressing to both of their throats.

Adam forced himself to not hit whoever was restraining him, seeing Mikasa holding Levi back. He turned, looking back to see Petra holding him back. He sighed, forcing himself to calm down, and after a moment, Mikasa and Petra released them.

"What...the...fuck?" Petra demanded.

"He told me that he's going to kill Annie, but won't let me even say goodbye to her first," Adam said. "So I congratulated him on his engagement, and told him I was happy he was able to save you from Annie. But then I remembered that it wasn't him who saved you. He was going to let you die. Guess I shouldn't really be surprised he's not letting me see Annie, I suppose, but hey, it's all okay as long as _Humanity's Strongest Soldier_ get's _his_ happy ending, right? Fuck everyone else."

Petra slapped him and Adam grit his teeth. "That's enough, Adam. You're lucky you're not _already_ in cuffs. As for you, Levi, how dare you refuse to let him say goodbye to Annie? Actually, no, not say goodbye. How dare you all keep him from being allowed to see her _at all_ ever since she was captured? I was there the day Erwin gave his word to let Annie live, and to let Adam visit her while she was in prison. I was there when he promised Adam he could have the chance to save Annie. How dare you all lie to his face and deny him that?"

"Erwin lied," Levi said.

"I _know_ he lied!" Petra snapped. "I've _seen_ you all refusing to let Adam see her! I'm well aware that Erwin didn't keep his word! None of you are any better either! Not a single one of you is worthy of being trusted anymore. Your word means nothing!"

"I never gave him my word to let her live," Levi said.

"No, you're just actively refusing to let him say goodbye to the love of his life," Petra said. "You know what? You're not the man I thought you were. I thought you had honor, and that you could actually be trusted. I guess I was wrong."

"Petra-"

"Don't even think about defending yourself, Levi!" Petra snapped. "It's over! Relationships are based on trust, and if you can't even be trusted to keep a promise to let someone visit a _comatose_ girl that he's in love with, why the hell should I trust you to be faithful? It's over!"

"Petra, you don't have to do this," Adam said.

"I'm not doing this for you!" Petra scoffed. "I mean it. If he can't be trusted for this, then I don't trust him for anything else."

She turned, storming out and Levi groaned, sitting back down and resting his face in his hands.

"Are you happy now?" Levi asked.

"Oh, you are _not_ blaming that on me!" Adam snarled. "That's _all_ on you! You have your chance. All you had to do was tell me where Annie was. Since you couldn't be bothered to do that, _you're_ the one responsible for ending your relationship with Petra."

He turned, walking out of the building as well.

* * *

Adam followed Levi in silence. Finally, they reached the door where Annie was being held and Levi nodded to the guard, who unlocked the door. Levi led Adam down the stairs, the two of them reaching the bottom after nearly five minutes of walking, reaching a large empty room where Anne's crystal hung off to one side against the wall, supported by cables wrapped around it to hold it up, and boards wedged between it and the wooden floor from below.

"You have five minutes," Levi said. "And for the record, I'm sorry for not letting you see her before. I didn't trust you not to have some way of waking her up and then plans to betray us with her, and I'm not sure I do still. But I do understand how it must have felt to not be allowed to see her."

"You know this won't win Petra back, right?" Adam asked.

"I know," Levi said. "Petra won't even talk to me now. I know this won't change anything. But...it's what's right."

"If she woke up right now, would you let me try to save her?" Adam asked.

Levi stared at him for several seconds before turning away. "No. We're taking the power and giving it to someone we can trust. That's non-negotiable."

Then, he walked back up the stairs. Adam remained silent for a while before walking over to Annie, stopping in front of her and resting his hand on the crystal. For a moment, it was cold, but it began to warm quickly as he rested his hand on it, soon feeling body temperature, though still solid.

"Hey Annie," he smiled. "I'm so sorry I didn't visit for so long. They wouldn't let me. I tried, I swear. I begged and pleaded. Hell, I even got into a fight with Levi over it. That one hurt. I held my own, though. Can you believe it? So much has changed since you went to sleep. Armin's the Colossal Titan now. I'm sorry. He ate Bertholdt. But if he hadn't, he'd have died. Eren and Mikasa are finally together. So are Ymir and Historia. And Historia's queen. The higher ups aren't too happy about her being with Ymir, but they can't really stop her. Let me see, what else. The Scout Regiment got almost totally wiped out, so our group is the most senior, now. Erwin died, and Hange took over. And it turns out, we're all devil spawn that deserve to die. At least, that's what your country believes, right? I wonder if you ever questioned that. I'd like to think so. After all, I'm devil spawn too, right?" He smiled, tears rolling down his face. "I wish you could answer me. I wish I knew you could hear me. I love you. I love you so much. I never had the balls to say it before, but I do. I'd give anything to be able to be with you. There's something else you need to know. The higher ups have decided to take your power. They want to feed you to Sasha. They want to kill you." He rested his forehead against the crystal, sniffing. "Just hang in there. I promise, I'll be back soon. And then I'll get you out of this crystal."

He lifted his head, staring up at Annie before turning and walking up the stairs, finding Levi waiting at the top. He didn't say anything as he passed Levi, Levi remaining equally silent as they left. Finally, once they were out of the building, Adam turned and left, heading to the top of the wall to think. Tomorrow was his day off. And they'd likely have more security now that Levi had shown him where she was. He sighed. Whatever. He'd fight Levi himself if he had to. _No one_ was killing Annie so long as he was alive.

* * *

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	24. Chapter 24

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Choice

Adam walked into the shack and picked up Annie's ODM gear, walking back out to his horse. The shack was an abandoned one somewhere about twenty minutes from Stohess, surrounded by hills to hide it from view. It was perfect for Adam to store Annie's gear. And now that the gear was leaving, there was no trace he had used it.

Adam set the gear across his horse's back and climbed on, patting his horse. "You're going to be someone else's soon.

The horse snorted and shook its mane and he smiled, stroking the side of its neck as it headed for Stohess without any urging.

"I can't bring you," Adam said. "It'll be a miracle if I can even get me and her out of here. We've only got the one elevator in place. I might not even take you that far. I can't leave you in Wall Maria. It's too big. They'd never find you."

The horse snorted again and Adam sighed, stroking the side of its neck again.

"We'll see," Adam said. "Okay?"

It continued in silence and he smiled. After a little while, they reached Stohess and he climbed off, taking Annie's ODM gear and swinging up to the top of the wall. It was late, already long past sunset. He dropped into the street below and walked quickly to the Garrison HQ, walking through the door and toward Annie's door. As he reached the corner, he peeked in carefully, seeing a pair of guards. He stepped back, looking back the way he had come. He knew full well that Levi expected him to try something. That's just who Levi was. So two guards wasn't all they'd be facing.

He sighed, turning and walking down the hallway toward the two guards. They leveled their rifles at him but he kept walking, and they held their fire.

"Halt," one of them said finally.

Adam stopped. "Hold this for me."

Adam tossed him Annie's ODM gear and the guard caught it. The moment Adam let go of the gear, however, he drew his swords and shot forward using his gas. The second guard, who had watched the ODM gear fly as well, wasn't able to react before Adam slashed the rifle and removed the trigger from the hammer, keeping it from firing. Then, his sword swung up, lopping off the guard's head. At the same time, his other sword split the other guard's head in half. Adam sheathed both swords, grabbing the keys and opening the door, shoving both guards' bodies through with their heads then grabbed Annie's ODM gear and walked through, closing the door behind himself. He hurried down the stairs, reaching the bottom and carefully looking around. Clear.

He walked quickly over to Annie, leaning against it hard and slashing the cables, grunting as the weight settled on him before he lowered the crystal to the ground. Then, he drew one of his swords and climbed onto the crystal.

"Hang on Annie," Adam said. "This might take a while."

Then, he slammed the crystal down as hard as he could, chipping a couple of chunks off of the blade and chipping a couple larger pieces off of the crystal around Annie. He smiled. His blades were a little harder. He continued to slam his blade down, more and more breaking off as his muscles and bones screamed at him to rest, but he couldn't. As soon as that blade had been expended, he swapped it for the next, continuing. By the time he was halfway through the second, blood was dripping from his palms. Still he pressed onward, slowly but surely chipping away more and more of the crystal. And still he continued. Seconds bled into minutes, which then dragged into hours. Finally, his last blade crumbled and he fell backward, sitting down hard against the wall, hands trembling, the skin on his palms bloody and ground away to hamburg by the grips of his sword hilts. He stared at the crystal. He hadn't gotten anywhere near as far as he had thought. He had exposed her back from just below her shoulders to just above her waist, and about an inch past each side.

"Shit," Adam breathed, string at the ground. "Now what do I use?"

He spotted a small chunk of crystal, one about eight inches long and broken into a point on each end, about as big around as his fingers if he placed the tips of his fingers against his thumb in a circle. He picked it up, finding a couple of the edges along the side were sharp as well. He used it to cut his jacket's sleeve off and wrapped it around the crystal, then began to slam the point on one end into the crystal again, careful not to stab Annie. Within a half hour, he had to swap to a different chunk, this one a little less sharp.

As he pounded away, images began to appear in his head. Sasha, Levi, and Hange sitting around a table. Sasha crying. A titan that looked a little like Sasha eating Annie. He grit his teeth, pounding harder. He wouldn't let that happen. No matter what, he'd protect Annie.

* * *

Adam hammered away at the crystal almost frantically, slamming the crystal chunk home again and again, ignoring the agony in his vastly over-used muscles and his shredded palms. He was so close. As long as he didn't peel her skin off when he pulled her out, he was so close. He struck the crystal one last time and dropped the chunk off to the side, gripping the edge of a thin sheet he had mostly broken loose and pulling, the piece cracking a little more before breaking free, uncovering her left hand. Then, he knelt, pulling away the thin layer of crystal left covering her legs from the knees down, this one coming away in several pieces, the pieces thin enough that they cut into his hands as he pulled them away, though he ignored it. Finally, her back was entirely clear. He didn't know what time it was, but it had to be morning by now. He was lucky no one had come to try and find the two guards he had killed.

He reached out to her hand, gently pulling on it, finding that her skin wasn't stuck to the crystal in front of her, but her clothes were. He grabbed one of the thin pieces of crystal he had just broken off, the sharp ones, and very, _very_ carefully cut the back of her boots, then her pants, then her coat and sweatshirt. Once he had finished, he tossed the crystal aside, carefully and gently pulling her free of the crystal until she collapsed into his arms, Adam carrying her away from the crystal shards on the floor, setting her down where the floor was clear and cradling her against him, holding his fingers against her neck to feel for a pulse. Finally, he felt one. He brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face before staring at the damage he had done to his hands. He wouldn't be able to use them properly again for a long time. And they'd definitely scar.

He looked down at her again just as her eyes fluttered open. She stared up at him, blinking slowly before her eyes began to slowly widen. Then, finally, she threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. After a moment, she pulled back, staring at him.

"But...I wasn't...I thought...how?" Annie asked.

"It wasn't easy," Adam said. "I chiseled you out with the blades you gave me. Then once those were broken, I used pieces I had broken off."

Annie stared at him, then looked around at the crystal, her eyes widening as she saw her clothes still in the crystal. She looked down, realizing for the first time that she was nude and instantly covered herself.

"Why the hell didn't you get my clothes out?" Annie demanded.

"I couldn't," Adam said. "They were stuck."

"Then why didn't you _un-_ stick them?" Annie asked.

"It was all I could do to unstick you," Adam said, holding out his hands.

Annie gasped harshly and grabbed his cloak from his back, ripping strips off of the bottom and wrapping his hands quickly. "You idiot! You don't heal like me! Why the hell did you do this to yourself!?"

"I couldn't leave you in there," Adam said. "I couldn't. I needed to see you again. I needed to be able to tell you that I love you."

Annie stopped, staring at him before tears fell from her eyes and she kissed him. He kissed her back for several moments before she pulled back, continuing to wrap his hands.

"Your hands are damaged badly," Annie said. "You might not recover full use."

"It was worth it," Adam said.

"You idiot," Annie sighed. "You'll be called a traitor."

"Absolutely," Adam nodded. "But you can't stay here, so I had to do it."

"Why?" Annie asked.

"They're planning to have Sasha take your titan power," Adam said, Annie staring at him.

"I see," Annie said. "So...what then?"

"We're leaving," Adam said. "We're going back to your home. You can't go home empty-handed, I know, but if you brought home a new recruit, a traitor who knew how things here worked, and knew the identities of the strongest soldiers humanity has, would that be enough?"

"You...you would do that?" Annie asked. "You'd be okay with betraying your friends?"

"No," Adam said. "I wouldn't. But if the other option is to watch you die, I'll do whatever I have to in order save you. Even if that means that I have to betray everyone."

Annie stared at the ground before throwing her arms around him. "I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too," Adam said. "Whatever happens, I'll be right beside you."

"What happens if Levi or the others try to stop us?" Annie asked.

"I'll do whatever I have to to stop them," Adam said. "If it comes down to a choice between all of them or just you, I'll choose you every time."

Annie wiped the tears from her eyes. "But...in Stohess..."

"They swore that if I helped them they'd let you live," Adam said. "I didn't believe them, but I couldn't just sit by. I wanted to be there to protect you if they went against their word. Originally, I had wanted to convince you to come quietly, so that they'd have no right to kill you."

"I'm sorry," Annie said. "I caused you a lot of trouble."

"I don't care," Adam said. "What's done is done. Now let's get the hell out of here while we still can."

Annie nodded and stood, helping him up. They climbed the stairs, Annie taking a moment to put one of the dead guards' clothes on for decency,followed by her ODM gear, before Adam carefully pushed the door open. The coast was clear, but the sun was shining through the windows. They wouldn't be sneaking away easily.

"We might have to fight our way out after all," Adam said, glancing at his empty sword holsters.

Annie passed him half of her blades and he nodded, attaching his handles to them, wincing in pain at trying to hold the handles. He'd be hard-pressed to fight off anyone, let alone Levi. He pushed the door open and they walked out, Adam closing and locking it behind himself, tossing the keys into the corner. Then, they started down the hallway quickly, only to stop at the second of four windows as Mikasa, Eren, Jean, Sasha, Levi, Hange, Connie, Marlo, Hitch, Ymir, and Historia all stepped around the corner.

"Shit," Adam sighed, hands resting on his sword handles. "So you really did know."

"Why did you think I was showing you where she was?" Levi asked. "We had no way to break that crystal. Even with crystal blades that Eren made. Annie's crystal was just harder than Eren's. But we knew that you, of all people, would be able to get her out, somehow."

"And now you're going to turn Sasha into a titan right here, in the middle of Stohess, and hope she has what it takes as a pure titan to eat Annie?" Adam asked. "Even if I _didn't_ kill Sasha to protect Annie, which, at that point, I would, Annie can still transform, so she'd just kill Sasha anyway.

"Annie's still weak from her sleep," Levi said, pulling out the syringe, already filled with the fluid. "I'm willing to bet she probably couldn't transform if her life depended on it, am I right?"

"He's right," Annie whispered. "I can't transform right now."

"Are you willing to bet Sasha's life on it?" Adam asked.

"I am," Levi said.

"And I take it you're okay with this, Sasha?" Adam asked, tears running down Sasha's face. "Looks like a no to me."

"Annie's not walking out of this building," Levi said. "If you resist, I'll kill you. By the look of it, you're in no condition to fight, and even if Annie _can_ transform, I've brought her down once. I'll do it again."

"And so you're going to force Sasha to eat a friend, just because you're afraid of Annie," Adam said. "Whatever Petra saw in you I'll never know."

Levi's eyes narrowed and Adam swung a hand up, ejecting the blade and sending it spinning through the air at the syringe. Before it could reach Levy, Eren slashed it out of the air. Then, Mikasa, Ymir, and Hitch all moved, and it was instantaneous chaos.

* * *

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	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Escape

Eren slashed the blade out of the air and moved to charge, only for Hitch to sweep his legs out from under him. At the same time, Ymir and Mikasa both slashed one of the cables connecting Levi's swords to his ODM gear, rendering it useless. Levi slashed the sword he was holding at Ymir, but Historia blocked it. As she did, Jean and Marlo reached Annie and Adam, who were both prepared to fight, both in Annie's basic combat stance. Marlo punched at Adam, only for Adam to catch the arm under his own right, pushing up on the inside of his elbow with his right hand, his left pressing down on Marlo's shoulder. At the same time, Annie stepped past Jean, yanking his arm back between Jean's legs and then up, making him stand on the tips of his toes to keep from falling or crushing his testicles. Then, she lifted the arm, flipping Jean before kicking Marlo in the head, dropping him.

Adam glanced at the others, where Mikasa, now with the Syringe in her left hand, was fighting off Levi with her other sword, Levi's attention split between her and Ymir. Historia was fighting of Hange, barley, and Eren was trying to decide whether to try and stop Annie or help the others. Off to one side, Hitch was lying on the floor, wrestling with Connie.

"Where'd Sasha-" Adam was cut off as Sasha burst in through the window beside them, pinning him to the ground, choking him, tears running down her face.

"I'm so sorry!" Sasha sobbed. "I don't want to."

Before Adam could break free himself, Annie punted Sasha in the side of the head, dropping her.

"Time to go," Annie said.

"Right," Adam nodded, drawing his swords. "That's enough!"

Everyone paused, looking over at them.

"Mikasa, Historia, Ymir, Hitch, thank you, all of you," Adam said. "But that's enough. If Levi wants to kill Annie so bad, let him try. If he can catch us, that is."

And with that, he and Annie took off out the window, streaking away from the building rapidly. A moment later, Levi appeared beside Adam, slashing. Adam managed to block both of the blades, but his hands were unable to hold on tight enough and his swords fell away. Then, Annie crashed into Levi, both crashing down on a building, Adam grabbing his swords and flipping, returning to the building in time to tackle Levi off of Annie before he could stab her. Adam didn't know or care how he had fixed or replaced his ODM gear so fast. He just wanted to get Annie away safely. As soon as they hit the ground, Levi rolled on top of Adam, stabbing downward at him, hitting nothing but the roof below them. Adam yanked his feet up between them and shoved, throwing Levi backward before leaping forward, slashing and cutting both gas tubes above the first gas tank.

Levi punched him, kicking his ODM gear as Adam recoiled, breaking one of Adam's own gas tubes. Adam landed hard, rolling in time to knock one of Levi's swords aside. Levi punched at him and Adam trapped the arm under his, locking Levi's elbow before shoving his hips upward, breaking Levi's elbow. Levi shouted in pain just before Annie slammed a foot into his head. Almost instantly, Eren crashed into Annie, tackling her to the ground. Adam rolled, gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain, grabbing Eren by the back of the neck and his coat, spinning and hurling him into Levi, knocking both off the roof. Then, he turned, taking off using the gas on one side and his cables, Annie swinging along beside him.

"Can we make it?" Annie asked.

"It'll be close," Adam said. "We'll have to be lucky."

Annie nodded and Adam glanced back, seeing Jean, Marlo, Eren, Hange, and Sasha all chasing after them.

"Shit!" Adam swore. "Company!"

"We wouldn't be having this problem if I could just transform," Annie growled.

"No point worrying about that now!" Adam said, swinging low and kicking his way through a pile of barrels, forcing their pursuers to scatter. "How long until Eren transforms?"

"Minutes at best!" Annie said.

Just then, Mikasa swung at them from the front, both scattering and allowing Mikasa to plant her feet in Jean's chest, throwing him backward. She flipped, swinging back up beside Adam and Adam glanced at her.

"You hate Annie," Adam said. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I owe my being able to be with Eren to you," Mikasa said. "And because I don't like that shrimp refusing to listen to reason about Annie, no matter what I think of her."

Adam nodded. "Will Eren forgive you for this?"

"Yes," Mikasa nodded, glancing back. "Levi's coming. I'll delay him."

"Don't die, Mikasa," Adam said. "Please."

Mikasa nodded and flipped, heading back the other way just as Eren swung out of an alleyway in front of Adam, slashing at him, tearing into his side. Adam shouted in pain, his ODM gear falling off as he crashed to the ground. Annie screamed in rage as Eren dropped onto Adam, driving his swords down at him. He missed, however, when Adam drilled a punch into his chin and threw his own upper body to the side. Eren growled in annoyance, only for Adam to punch him again and roll them both over, drilling three more punches into Eren's face before scrambling off and hobbling away, his ankle twisted in the landing. Before he could get far, Hange landed in front of him, Jean to the left, Sasha to the right, Connie behind him, and a dozen Garrison Regiment troops around them.

"It's over, Adam!" Hange said. "Stand down!"

"Well, you caught me," Adam said, seeing Annie watching from an alleyway outside the Garrison Regiment's circle. "But Annie's getting away."

"Don't you worry about her," Hange said. "We'll get her as soon as she reaches the wall."

Adam stared at her before he realized who was missing. "Armin."

"That's right," Hange nodded. "Now, come quietly."

Jean pulled out a pair of cuffs, stepping forward and Adam lunged, drilling a punch into his jaw and taking the cuffs, slapping one onto Jean's wrist as Hange lunged for him. He cuffed the other end to her and ducked out of the way of her grab, Sasha latching onto his back. He reached back, grabbing the back of her coat then bent forward, throwing her into Jean and Hange. Connie leapt at Adam next, but Historia crashed into him, feet first, throwing him away. Then, as all of the assembled Garrison Regiment troops leapt at Adam, Ymir's titan form streaked under them, snatching up Adam, then pausing beside Annie, allowing her to climb on before taking off again.

"Thanks Ymir," Adam said. "You're all taking a huge risk in doing this for us. Why?"

"Friends," Ymir said, reaching the wall and setting Adam on her back where he grabbed some of her hair, as Annie was doing.

Then, she started up the wall, moving quickly.

"Armin is up ahead!" Adam warned her. "Be ready! He's got some kind of plan!"

"They probably knew we'd only get to the wall with your help!" Annie said.

Ymir nodded just as a cable embedded itself in her shoulder, Ymir roaring in pain and Levi speeding up at her, swords poised to kill her.

"No way!" Adam snarled, wrenching the cable out of her and tossing it away.

Another shot out tearing a gash into Adam's side, just above the last and he shouted in pain, Levi continuing to climb. Then, just as he reached her, Annie blocked his swords and shoved them away, cutting one of the straps to his ODM gear, carving a gash into his side at the same time, and he fell.

"Land safely or keep attacking!" Adam shouted. "You can't do both when your gear's about to fall off!"

Levi watched him for a moment before flipping and sending out a cable, swinging to the ground and landing in a roll, his gear bouncing away. Adam looked up just as they reached the top of the wall, Ymir landing on it and stopping. Below them, Armin was sitting on a horse, over a hundred Military Police and Scout Regiment recruits present.

"Now what?" Annie asked.

Less than a second later, a pair of cables hit the wall behind them and hands grabbed both of them, dragging them off of Ymir before Hange flipped over her, dropping a heavy cable net on her, weights dragging her to the ground instantly. Adam threw his elbow backward, feeling it break a nose and rolling away, standing to find Flotch scrambling to his feet, holding his nose. He glanced toward Annie, seeing her wrestling with Sasha. He looked back at Flotch, who grinned.

"With your hands like that, I bet even I can whoop your ass," Flotch grinned.

Adam smirked, dropping into Annie's combat stance. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Flotch swung a haymaker at Adam and Adam laughed, catching his hand and slamming a palm strike into his chin then turned, kicking his legs out from under him, yanking his arm and smashing him down on his shoulders. Flotch shouted in pain, flopping to the ground as tears ran out of his eyes. Adam turned, sprinting to Ymir and lifting the net. He could get it to rise a little, but the weights were too heavy for him to lift with his injured hands. He dropped it, jumping onto Ymir's back then off of her at Sasha, slamming both feet into her just as she somehow managed to pin Annie, throwing her off. Annie sprinted to Ymir and lifted the net, grunting in effort and throwing it off, allowing Ymir to stand. Just as she did, Levi landed beside Flotch, and Hange landed on the other with Jean.

"It's over," Levi said. "You can't get away."

Adam looked around as Eren landed beside Levi.

"Whose ODM gear is that Levi?" Adam asked.

"Mikasa's," Levi said. "The set you broke previously belonged to Hitch."

Adam nodded. So they were alone then.

"What do we do?" Annie asked.

"They're not leaving us very much choice," Adam said. "We'll have to fight."

"With what?" Levi asked. "Annie can't transform, and you have no ODM gear. Plus, you're bleeding out rapidly. If you keep trying to fight, you'll die."

"I'll fight you with my bare hands if I have to," Adam said. "Did you kill Mikasa?"

"No," Levi said. "I left her with Marlo."

Just then, Mikasa landed on the wall between Levi and Eren and Ymir.

"So you took his ODM gear," Levi said. "I should have known. If you continue to resist, we'll be forced to execute you."

"Excuse me?" Eren said.

"She's aiding in the enemy's escape," Levi said. "She's a traitor."

"Historia's helping too!" Eren said.

"Doesn't that mean you should all stand down?" Adam asked. "She _is_ the queen, after all."

"Eren, get your girlfriend under control, or I'll have no choice," Levi said.

"Mikasa..." Eren trailed off as Adam sprinted past her, grabbing one of her blades and hurling it at Levi, who deflected it, stabbing at him with the other blade.

Adam made no move to avoid it, allowing it to impale his abdomen through a non-fatal spot, drilling his fist into Levi's jaw with one hand while he detached the blade with his other. Levi staggered away before reaching to grab a new blade, only for Mikasa to reach him, kicking him in the chest and throwing him backward as she sashed his ODM gear's cables. Then, she landed and spun, making no move to block Eren's blades, Eren stopping his attack just shy of her, gritting his teeth.

"Fine then," Eren sighed. "I'm ending this."

Adam's eyes widened as Eren raised a hand, biting it as he jumped off the wall. The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust and smoke before Eren's crystalized fingers caught the wall and he swung around, flipping back up the the top, landing hard over Annie, who was struggling to fight of both Jean and Hange. He reached down to grab her but Ymir grabbed her first, leaping away. Eren punched at Ymir, missing and shattering a section of the wall instead. As Ymir landed, she set Annie down then tackled Eren, knocking him off of the wall.

"Ymir!" Sasha shouted.

"Eren!" Hange shouted.

"They'll be fine!" Levi said, he and Mikasa fighting with their swords, their blades creating a nearly constant shower of sparks. "Catch Annie and Adam!"

Adam turned to fight just as Jean ripped the blade out of his abdomen, allowing it to start bleeding. Adam coughed, blood splattering out of his mouth before he fell to his knees, holding a hand to his side.

"Adam!" Annie screamed, running toward him only for Hange to tackle her, putting her in an arm bar.

"Enough already!" Hange said. "Just stop!"

Annie tried to fight her off but Hange shoved her arm, slamming her body into the ground. Annie reached out toward Adam, who fell onto his back, holding a hand to the hole in his side and looking over at Annie.

"I'm...sorry," Adam said.

Annie grit her teeth and screamed, biting into her hand. Nothing. She bit again. Nothing.

"You can't transform!" Hange said. "You're just hurting yourself for no reason!"

"Adam!" Annie said. "Please! Save Adam!"

Just then, Mikasa bounced along the ground, stopping beside Hange, both legs broken.

"Adam knew the risks," Levi said. "He was fully prepared to die if it meant saving you. Instead, not only did he fail to save you, but now several of his friends will have to die."

"No, they won't," Historia said landing behind Levi. "Let her go, now!"

"We can't do that, Historia," Levi said. "She's too great a threat. She has to be removed."

"How _dare_ you!?" Historia spat. "I am the queen, and I order you to release her!"

"And I will treat you like a queen again once Annie Leonhart is dead," Levi said.

"Anyone who continues to try to impede Annie, starting _right now_ , will be executed!" Historia shouted.

Hange glanced at her before finally letting Annie up. Annie scrambled to Adam instantly, ripping his cloak off and ripping it up, quickly yet carefully bandaging his wound.

"You're _not_ dying on me!" Annie said. "You're not _allowed_ to die on me! I won't let you!"

Adam smiled, reaching up and brushing her tears away, only for her to swat his hand away.

"Stop moving!" Annie said. "I'm not letting you go!"

"He's finished," Levi said. "He's going to bleed out soon. We don't have the ability to save him."

Annie glared at him before stopping. "No, you don't. But Marley does!"

She tied his bandages off instantly and turned, leaping off of the wall and biting her hand again. This time, she was enveloped in an explosion instantly, reaching back and crystalizing her fingers, catching the wall and scrambling back up before scooping up Adam and leaping back off, landing on her feet and sprinting away.

"Well?" Levi asked, looking down at the soldiers at the base of the wall. "Go after them."

"Move and I'll have you all arrested!" Historia said. "And you, Levi Ackerman, are hereby stripped of all authority and rank within the Scout Regiment. You'll serve a term of three years in prison. And you should be thankful that I'm not having you executed."

Just then, Eren leapt over the wall, landing on top of it and dropping Ymir in front of Historia, both arms and legs missing, but alive.

"Ymir!" Historia shouted, dropping and ripping pieces of her sleeves off to try and slow the bleeding. "Eren, if you go after her, you'll be locked away for life!"

Eren glanced at her before turning back to the edge of the wall, crouching.

"Eren," Mikasa said. "Don't."

He stopped, looking at her, then at her legs. Rage boiled in his eyes and he turned on Levi.

"Stop," Mikasa said, holding up her hand. "It's over. Please, just stop."

After a moment, Eren left the titan's body through the back and dropped beside her, kneeling.

"Why, Mikasa?" Eren asked. "Why would you help him?"

"Because I owed him," Mikasa said. "He helped me finally be able to be with you."

Eren sighed, kissing her forehead before looking up at Historia. "So what now?"

"Now I'm going to decide how to punish you all," Historia said, holding Ymir's head in her lap the same way Eren was holding Mikasa. "You'd better hope Ymir wakes up and calms me down."

Eren nodded and sighed, looking south after Annie and Adam. For their sake, he hoped Annie could get to Marley fast enough.

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	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Battle

"We're pinned down!" one of the soldiers, Gabi Braun shouted.

"What do we do?" another, Falco Grice, asked.

"What _can_ we do?" a third, Udo, asked. "Commander Magath? Colt?"

"We'll have to charge them," Magath said. "If we all fire at once, we should be able to get there without too many casualties."

"It won't work," Colt said. "We don't have enough men for it. We'd lose three fourths in the rush, then we wouldn't have enough to finish the mission."

"Well what do _you_ propose then?" Magath asked. "Well, vermin?"

"I think it's time for us to let _him_ off the leash," Colt said.

" _Him_?" Magath scoffed. "What can one guy do? He's have to make it across at least three hundred meters of no man's land, dodging a wall of bullets and artillery. Even if he _did_ manage to get there, he can't clear a trench alone."

"I think you underestimate him, Commander," Colt said. "Besides, if he fails, you lose only one man, and then we can try your rush."

Magath was silent for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Go and get him."

"I'm already here," Adam said, stepping up beside him and setting the case he always had with him now down, opening it. He pulled out his new ODM gear and quickly put it on. It was the same as what he had had before he left, except that it was now able to fold up when not in use to be carried easier. He stood, drawing a pair of crystal blades and cracked his neck.

"It's him!" Udo breathed. "It's the Crystal Falcon!"

"Crystal Falcon?" Adam asked. "Seriously? You guys couldn't come up with a better nickname than that? How insulting. My name's Adam." He peeked his head up, looking around no man's land for a bit before a bullet hit tot he side of his head and he dropped back down. "No anchor points huh? Should be interesting."

"You really think you can do this alone?" Magath asked.

"Give me a couple hand grenades and I'll show you," Adam said. Gabi held out two grenades, explosives on the end of a stick, and Adam stuck them in the inside pocket of his personalized uniform, which he was frequently yelled at for wearing, then jumped, launching himself skyward with his gas. Soldiers from the opposite trench shouted instantly and Adam flipped, jetting forward and at an angle as they opened fire. He counted to three before jetting down at an angle, almost instantly flipping and jetting back forward again. Bullets flew past him on all sides before he flipped, grabbing the grenades and pulling the pins, hurling them into the trench ahead of him and a distant apart, the explosions making everyone hunker down. As they did, Adam blasted out one last burst of gas, landing on the edge of the trench and skidding in, kicking a soldier back and slashing him instantly. Then, he turned, ducking as a soldier to his left fire, the shot hitting one behind him instead. He jetted forward, stabbing the one who had fired and grabbing one of his grenades, these one shaped like a miniature pineapple with a lever down one side, and yanked the pin out, hurling it over his shoulder before ripping his blade out, throwing the man behind himself and slashing his way through three more before stabbing the fourth just as the grenade he had thrown exploded.

Adam spun, the body blocking the shrapnel, then leapt away from the body, stabbing backward and killing the last troop in that stretch of trench. The artillery guns were too far away for him to reach, but he _could_ clear the rest of the trench. The only other stretch that was giving Marley trouble was a stretch a little to the east of where he was. He sprinted through the trench, grabbing three grenades as he did, before he reached a corner, around which he could hear rifles firing. He pulled the first pin, keeping the lever down so it didn't explode, and looked around the corner, seeing Mid-East Allied Forces troops standing in the trench. He rolled the grenade past a couple and ducked back around the corner, counting the explosion down. Once it went off, he sprinted into the trench, jetting forward and slashing past two soldiers, stabbing a third, then shoving him back, the sword also impaling a fourth.

Then, he stood there, the two wounded soldiers acting as a shield as several more soldiers opened fire on him. Finally, their guns ran dry and Adam stepped past the two corpses, pulling his sword free and slashing one of the troops, tossing his next grenade just as he caught the butt of the next one's rifle when they swung it at him. He smirked, grabbing the person by the front of his jacket just as the grenade exploded, shrapnel killing the soldier Adam was holding and multiple more. Then, he tossed him aside and sprinted forward. There were two left. He dropped into a slide as one fired, then used gas to propel himself back to his feet in time to decapitate him, then slashed the other up the front, lifting him into the air.

He sighed, sheathing his swords as he turned, grabbing a rifle from the ground just in time for a soldier lying on the ground to fire his rifle, hitting Adam in the center of his chest. Adam staggered backward, eyes wide with shock before falling to his knees, holding a hand to his chest. After a moment, he coughed, grimacing and stood, licking the mushroomed bullet onto the soldier's chest.

"What...what are you?" the soldier asked.

"I'm no one," Adam said. "Just another devil spawn who abandoned his friends for the love of his life."

Then, he set the rifle against the soldier's eye and fired, killing him. Once finished, he ripped off a piece of the soldier's uniform and tied it to the rifle, waving it over the trench. After another minute, Marleyan soldiers began dropping into the trench, following it in both directions rapidly. Colt and Magath slid into it last and Colt handed him his ODM gear's case, Magath looking around.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it," Magath said. "Impressive. We should be able to reach their artillery guns following their trenches."

"I hope so," Adam said, storing his ODM gear. "I'm done with this for the rest of the battle."

"What if we need you again?" Colt asked.

"You won't," Adam said just as another soldier slid into the trench, pulling off Adam's red armband and then flipping it over and pulling it back on so the irregularly-shaped white eight-point star on it was facing the right way up.

"Honestly, Adam," Annie said. "You've been wearing this thing for three years now. When are you going to learn how it's supposed to look?"

"Well," Adam said, thinking. "Maybe whenever I can stop having to put it on while dodging bullets."

"I told you to stop using that fucking antique equipment," Annie said. "One of these times you're going to get yourself killed."

"I love you too," Adam said, kissing her before turning back to the trench, picking up the rifle and pulling out the grenade, wrapping string around it to hold the lever down then pulling the pin and passing Annie the end of the string then the grenade. "Batter up."

Annie tossed the grenade into the air and Adam swung the rifle, sending the grenade spinning through the air. Once it reached the end of its string, the lever flew away and the grenade landed at the base of one of the artillery guns, exploding and killing several of the crew working it, injuring more and forcing the rest to scatter. Then, he flipped the rifle back over and rested it on his shoulder.

"I think it's almost time," Adam said.

"Yes," Magath nodded. "As soon as we take down those artillery guns, it'll be your turn, titan."

"I know," Annie said. "That bunker's as good as gone once those guns are out of the way."

Adam glanced at her as they waited. Ever since waking up from the crystal, she had changed. She wasn't nearly as withdrawn anymore. She wasn't as expressive as most normal people, but for Annie, it was practically like she was walking around shouting about her feelings. However, that wasn't always good. He could tell at a glance that she felt horrible about having to fight the war. She hated it. Just as much as he did. They just happened to excel at killing.

Finally, both artillery guns exploded and Annie climbed out of the trench, walking a safe distance away before transforming. Then, she took off at a sprint, crystalizing her face and torso as the bunker's machine gun rained bullets on her. The crystal began to crack, but before anything could break through, she reached the bunker, switching the crystal to her foot and stomping on it, crushing everyone inside of it. Marleyan soldiers ran over instantly, Annie kneeling and scooping out the cement from the bunker's cover out, then used her finger to push the heavy iron door open, breaking it off of its hinges. Instantly a grenade bounced out of the door and Annie placed her hand over it, blocking the explosion. Then, Marleyan soldiers streamed into bunker's door, gunfire echoing out of it for several moments before stopping, soldiers returning just as Magath, Adam, and Colt arrived, reporting the bunker was clear.

"Good," Magath said. "Then we can finally move on to our final objective."

"Fort Slava?" Adam asked. "That's what it was, right?"

"Yes," Magath nodded. "Once the fort and the navy, which is assembled there, are taken down, we'll have won this war."

Magath said.

"Finally," Adam sighed. "Alright, let's get going."

"Excuse me?" Magath asked. "I'm sorry. Are _you_ the one giving orders, scum?"

"We have a mission to complete, don't we?" Adam asked. "Standing around here arguing about who's a monster and who's not isn't going to help anyone. If we finish the mission, you won't have to deal with me again. I'd figured you'd want to get rid of me as soon as possible."

Magath glared at him. "We're giving the men time to rest. If you don't like it, you're free to take your monster girlfriend and go attack the base yourself."

Adam's hand gripped his sword tightly but he calmed himself.

"Of course, the fort is protected by an armored train armed with four anti-titan artillery guns," Magath continued, "as well as dozens of them along the top of its wall, but I'm sure your little toy can beat that."

"Most likely," Adam shrugged. "But fine. We'll wait."

Magath turned away, walking away from them as Annie dropped into the trench beside him.

"You shouldn't anger him," Annie said. "You may be very skilled at clearing trenches, but you're still Eldian scum to them. And that's _without_ them knowing where you came from."

"I don't care what they think of me," Adam said. "The sooner this war is over, the sooner you don't have to hurt anyone anymore."

Annie stared at him before smiling and staring at the ground. "I wonder what ever happened to the others."

"No idea," Adam said. "But I've got a feeling we'll see them again before too long."

Annie nodded just as Udo, Gabi, and Falco walked over.

"So, are you called the Crystal Falcon for your swords?" Gabi asked.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Adam said.

"Crystal Falcon, huh?" Annie asked. "That's what you get for using the gear.

"Oh hush," Adam said. "And no, not for the blades. That _does_ remind me, though." he looked to Annie. "I got tagged."

Annie rolled her eyes, Adam pulling his shirt up, Gabi and Falco gasping and staring at the crystal encasing his torso. Annie brushed her fingers over a crater in his chest where he had been shot. The crystal extended from just above his collarbones to just above his waist. Inside the crystal, A pair of scars ran along his side, and on the opposite side he had a three inch scar from where Levi had stabbed him. Annie rested a hand over the damaged part and bit her hand, crystal spreading out from her fingers, repairing the damage.

"That's so cool!" Falco said.

"It's not because we wanted it," Annie said. "He was wounded, and I couldn't get him help in time, so I encased his torso in crystal to stop the bleeding. Except, I wasn't careful enough, and the crystal fuzed with his skin. The wounds eventually healed, but the crystal can't be removed. He's stuck with it."

"I could think of worse fates," Adam said. "I'd be dead a million times over without it."

"You wouldn't be if you'd stop acting like you can regenerate the way I do," Annie said, her bite already having healed.

"Just making sure you're never bored of me," Adam smiled.

Annie groaned and shook her head. "Come on. I'm starving."

"Ugh," Adam groaned. "If I have to eat one more fucking can of corned beef, I might be sick."

"Maybe they'll have bacon this time," Annie smiled.

"Oh that would be beautiful," Adam smiled.

They walked through the trench to where rations were being handed out and Adam groaned. Corned beef again.

* * *

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	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Ended

Adam watched as Reiner and Zeke demolished the cannons. He hated them. Truly. He couldn't even be near them without wishing he was wearing his ODM gear so he could take their heads off. Even now, he struggled not to head into the fort and kill them both. One had killed Erwin, who Adam may not have been overly fond with for refusing to let him see Annie, but who Adam respected as a leader, along with hundreds of Adam's brothers-in-arms. The other had betrayed them, killed Marco, and tried to kidnap Eren. Not that he really had any right to hate Reiner for his allegiance to Marley. He was wearing the same uniform now.

"You okay?" Annie asked.

"I will be as soon as I'm away from those two," Adam grumbled.

Annie nodded. Adam looked back at the battlefield behind them. The tank and a machine gun bunker that had been giving them trouble for most of the battle had both been taken out by Gabi, who had stripped to a thin gown that she wore under her uniform then attached a bundle of grenades to her foot to look like a shackle. Then, she had walked toward the machine gun pit until she was in range and collapsed, removing the grenades from her ankle and throwing them onto the train tracks in time to derail it and send it crashing into the bunker. From there, she had retreated into a crater, Falco risking his life to tackle her out of the way of gun fire, only for them to be protected by Pieck, the Cart Titan, the quadruped that had been with Zeke at Shiganshina. Her titan form had a pair heavy machine guns mounted on its back with a metal shield to defend the troops firing them from oncoming fire.

Once the train and bunker were gone, Reiner and Zeke, who were flying over with a blimp, had dropped a couple dozen pure titans on them, crushing most of the fort and slaughtering almost all of the remaining troops before the anti-titan artillery guns had wiped them out. Then, Reiner had landed and began to take the guns out himself, Zeke arriving a moment later to help. Just as the last of the guns was taken down, one of the ships finally got a shot lined up, firing two anti-titan guns at once at Zeke. However, Reiner stepped into the way, everything of his titan body below his mid-chest being blown off.

"Yes!" Adam grinned. "Direct hit."

Annie smacked him. "Whether you hate him or not, you can't say stuff like that."

"I can want him to die all I want, as long as I don't do anything to cause his death myself," Adam said.

Just as he did, Zeke hurled a handful of artillery shells at the ships, most landing in the water but a dozen or so blasting the ships, sinking most and rendering the rest useless. And just like that, the war was over.

Adam sighed, leaning against the side of the crater. "Can we go home now?"

Annie nodded, leaning against him and kissing him. "Yes we can."

Adam smiled, kissing her back only to stop as Magath cleared his throat. They both turned, giving him a blank stare and he glared right back.

"Go and make sure all of the troops in the fort are dead," Magath said.

"The fort?" Adam said flatly. "Where Zeke is currently sitting on the wall and enjoying his flask? You think there's still someone alive that he hasn't noticed yet?"

"I gave you an order you filthy-"

"Scum or vermin?" Adam asked. "Or maybe you'll get creative and say devil?"

Magath's face began to turn red with anger.

"Relax commander," Adam said, pushing off the wall of the trench. "We're going."

He and Annie walked away from Magath to the fort and walked into it, Zeke glancing down at them and sliding down one of his dissolving titan body's arms, stopping in front of them.

"Well well, the walking chandelier and his his repair kit," Zeke greeted them. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Adam drew his sword a few inches but Annie caught his hand.

"Magath wanted us to make sure you killed everyone," Annie said.

"We did," Reiner said, walking over. "Hello Adam."

"Reiner," Adam said, sliding his sword back into its holster. "I'm sorry to see you survived."

"I could say the same to you," Reiner said. "I wish they'd learn to aim for the head with you."

"And I wish I could just kill you myself," Adam said. "I guess we're both going to be disappointed."

Reiner and Zeke glared at him before turning away and Adam and Annie sat off to one side to wait for word to be passed for them to head into town for the night. The next day, they'd be taking a train back to Liberio, Marley's capital.

* * *

Adam leaned back against the wall of the train and slid to the ground, watching as the Eldian soldiers all cheered and chanted Gabi's name, celebrating her success at single-handedly taking down the train so that the eight hundred of them wouldn't be wiped out trying. Annie sat beside him, leaning on his shoulder, and Adam rested his head on top of hers, lacing his fingers with hers. Two years left. Then he'd have to say goodbye. One way or another.

"The only way for you to protect Gabi is if you can surpass her," Reiner was telling Falco off to the side, speaking quietly to keep others from hearing, though Adam had been keeping an eye and ear trained on Reiner the entire time, out of habit mostly. "Let me say it another way. You _will_ rescue Gabi from the dark, dark future we face."

Falco nodded, vowing to do so, and Adam sighed, turning his head and kissing the top of Annie's.

"Don't be like that," Annie smiled. "It'll be okay."

"How?" Adam asked. "We don't know of any way to save you. I can't lose you. If you...If anyone tries to eat you, I'll kill them. And if you time out, I'm not going to be able to live."

Annie tucked her face into the side of his neck. "We've still got time. We'll figure something out."

"That's what we always say," Adam said. "And then we just end up getting into a fight until it's too late to figure anything out. If we're going to be able to figure this out, we need someone a lot smarter and more knowledgeable to start figuring. We need Armin and Hange. And _they_ need to know how titans really started."

Annie sighed. She slipped her hand out of his and wrapped her arms around him, Adam doing the same. After a moment, she slipped a hand under his shirt, trailing her fingers over the crystal.

"I really fucked you up, didn't I?" Annie asked.

"You saved my life," Adam said, pulling her hand back now. "And you've saved it again and again every time it blocks a bullet for me."

Annie sighed.

"Besides, look on the bright side," Adam said. "Now I've got rock-hard abs."

Annie couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. I suppose you do have that. Is it still mobile?"

"Yes," Adam said. "It still allows me to move. At least, unless it cracks. Then the spots around the cracks harden and restrict my movement."

Annie nodded. "We should rest. We'll be back in Liberio soon."

Adam nodded and stood, he and Annie heading to the train car they were sharing and going to bed, both falling asleep quickly.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Decompressing

Adam stepped out of the shower, drying himself and brushing his hair into something vaguely resembling its usual placement before pulling on underwear and a pair of sweatpants with a light sweatshirt. Then, he stepped out of the bathroom to find Annie sitting on the edge of the bed, a notebook in her hands. Adam stopped, staring at it. So she had finally found it, then. She turned the page, staring down at it before looking up at him.

"What is this?" Annie asked, voice quiet, since she knew exactly what it was.

"It's all the information I've been able to gather about Marley," Adam said, walking to the bed and sitting down beside her, leaving some space between them, incase she was angry. "Designs of their weaponry, designs for anti-titan artillery, ships, locations of Marleyan forts and bases, the identities and pictures of key personnel within the Marleyan military and government, as well as a description and an estimation of whether it would be possible to convince them to create peace with Paradis if the truth of us were explained to them, as well as a guesstimate of how difficult each would be on a one-to-ten scale."

"Why do you have this?" Annie asked, not having looked away from the entry about her own father for a while.

"For the past three years, I've been sending this kind of information to Paradis with help from a mole that contacted me just after we got here," Adam said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Annie asked.

"Because I know you're loyal to Marley, and I'm loyal to my friends, regardless of where they're from," Adam said. "I don't want any of them to die, that's why the most detailed information is how to create peace with each of the members."

"So...you chose them?" Annie asked.

"No," Adam said. "If they choose war over peace, I'll fight them. If they choose peace, I'll try to convince anyone I can, whatever few will listen, to negotiate."

"And what if _I_ want war?" Annie asked.

Adam was silent for a few moments before holding out a book of matches. "Then we'll go to war."

Annie took the matches and stared at the two objects before setting them both on the floor. "I wish you had told me."

"I know," Adam said. "I wanted to. But every time I had a chance, I couldn't figure out how, and every time I had some idea about how, I didn't have time because we were at war."

"We never figure anything out until it's no longer relevant," Annie said, remembering their conversation from the train.

"Yes," Adam said.

Annie sighed, leaning on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. "I wish we could just grow old together in peace."

"So do I," Adam said, kissing the top of her head.

"I don't care about Marley," Annie said. "I want to save my friends and family. I don't care which side wins as long as they're safe."

Adam nodded, giving Annie a light squeeze. After several seconds, Annie reached up, kissing him. Adam kissed her back and after a moment, she turned, positioning herself in his lap and draping her arms around his neck. He rested his hands on her hips, and for a while they stayed like that. However, after a while, he could feel Annie's patience start to wane. He truly loved being able to be with Annie without it absolutely having to lead to anything. They had been together for three years now and yet they could still simply enjoy each other's company for hours. However, Annie wasn't entirely like him. She was indulgent, and patient, but if her patience wore out, she became very easy to get worked up, something that Adam enjoyed even more than just being around her.

Finally, Annie's patience broke and she sighed irritably, nipping at his lip. He smiled, slipping his tongue past her lips where hers met his eagerly. He smiled, his hands beginning to lazily trail up and down her back. Annie wasn't having it, however, and shoved him onto his back, glowering down at him.

"No," Annie said. "We have been fighting for four month. I've waited long enough."

Adam chuckled, sitting back up and smiling, giving her a quick peck on the lips, receiving a scowl in return. "Fine."

Annie sighed in relief, happy to have won the argument, and attacked his lips, Adam laughing and returning the kiss with equal fervor. As he did, his hands began to knead her rear, making her hips rock against him, Annie moaning. As soon as she did, Adam captured her bottom lip, suckling on it roughly and dragging his tongue across it before biting down on it and letting it drag against his teeth as he let go. Annie's response was instant, her hand clutching at his shoulders and a loud moan rolling out of her mouth. He loved knowing the best ways to get her riled up. Learning them had been the best three-day weekend of his life.

After several more minutes of this, Adam slid his hands up, slipping them under Annie's night shirt and cupping her bare breasts, Annie moaning as he began to knead them, playing with her nipples every few seconds. Finally, she pulled back, pulling the shirt off and Adam attached his lips to one nipple, his left hand giving the other the attention it craved while his right hand returned to her rear. Annie moaned, one hand resting on the back of his head. After several minutes, Adam switched sides, hands swapping as well. Finally, Annie pushed him away, pulling his sweatshirt off and pushing him onto his back. Adam slid backward so that he was laying his head on the pillow and Annie lay on top of him. However, she stopped, on hand trailing over the crystal as she stared at it.

"Hey," Adam said, making her look up at him. "It doesn't matter."

Annie wanted to argue but nodded, reaching up and kissing him again. He once again captured her lip, forcing her to remember how worked up she was and she groaned, pressing her hips against his upper thigh to try to stave off the burning need for attention, which she knew he was intentionally denying. After a moment, Adam rolled them both over, kissing the side of her neck, then making his way down her body, pausing to worship her breasts for several moments before continuing. He smiled as her hands tangled in his hair, trying to push him lower.

"Hurry up already," Annie said.

Adam smiled. She wouldn't beg. It just wasn't who she was. At least, not without more incentive. He pulled her thin silk pants off and smiled when he realized she hadn't put on any underwear at all. He grinned, moving down to where she wanted him, trailing his tongue through her slit. Annie moaned loudly, holding his head in place as he continued to trail his tongue along her core, his right arm wrapping around her leg so that he could begin to draw lazy circles over her clit with his fingers.

"Adam," Annie moaned.

"Yes dear?" Adam asked, raising his head, continuing the slow circles.

"Faster," Annie said.

Adam smiled, and returned to what he was doing, moving slower than before. Annie made a noise somewhere between a moan and a whine.

"Faster!" Annie ordered.

Adam slowed down.

"Please!" Annie finally said. "Please, Adam! Please stop teasing!"

Adam smiled, hand skipping to blurring over her clit as he pushed his tongue deeper into her, lapping at her core as Annie began to writhe on the bed, clutching at his head with one hand and holding a pillow to her face with the other, crying out in pleasure and struggling to muffle herself. After a few more seconds, Adam pulled his head back, pushing two fingers into her and Annie just about lost it. She let the pillow fall away and clutched at his head with both hands forcing him back down. He smiled, lapping up the juices that were flooding out of her before pulling the fingers out long enough to wrap his arm around her other leg. Then, he pushed them back in, thrusting them rapidly as he continued to lap up her juices.

Annie continued to cry out in pleasure, breathing in ragged gasps as he pleasured her. Finally, he felt her inner walls clench around his fingers as her cries suddenly stopped and her body contorted, arching off the bed as she pulled his face against her. Adam smiled, pulling his fingers out of the way and replacing them with his tongue, collecting as much of her essence as he could as she came, grinding her hips against his face unintentionally, his right hand still rapidly rubbing her clit. As she was coming back down from her orgasm, Adam pushed one of his still slick fingers into her other entrance and began to pump it in and out, Annie shouting in surprise before moaning loudly. He quickly returned to full speed, soon adding his other finger and Annie began to all but scream in pleasure again. After a few more minutes, she came again, harder this time, and Adam again greedily drank her essence, easing her down from her orgasm this time. Once she had stopped thrashing and was trying to regain her breath, Adam crawled up to lay beside her, Annie kissing him, moaning as she tasted her own juices on his tongue.

"I love you," Annie said breathlessly.

"I love you too," Adam smiled.

Annie groaned, slowly rolling on top of him, acting as though it was a huge effort to even do that before lifting herself up and pulling his sweatpants down, pushing it off of his legs with her foot. Then, she flopped back down on top of him.

"God you suck," Annie said. "I can barely sit up now. How am I supposed to enjoy my boyfriend?"

"Oh, were you not?" Adam asked. "I could do it again if you want."

"Oh I do," Annie said. "But I want to get to the main course sometime today, rather than three days from now."

Adam smiled as she sat up, lining his member up with her entrance and lowering herself onto it. He groaned as her inner walls enveloped him, already squeezing him tightly. Once she was fully seated, she took a moment to adjust before beginning to raise and lower her hips. Within a couple of minutes, she was moving as fast as she could, Adam holding his hands up, her fingers laced with his and using their joined hands as leverage to help her ride him faster. After around ten minutes, Adam groaned, feeling himself nearing the end of his rope and struggling to hold it back.

"Shit," Adam groaned. "Looks like those four months got to me after all."

Annie smirked, even as she moaned loudly, beginning to move her hips quicker and more frantically, apparently nearing her own end as well. Adam grit his teeth as he felt Annie's insides begin to flutter. He couldn't hold out, though. He needed to pull out soon or else it'd be too late.

"Annie," Adam said through gritted teeth. "I can't...I need to pull out."

Annie shook her head, gasping uneven breaths and moaning loudly. "Inside! Please!"

Adam's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to respond, only for her insides to suddenly clamp down, spasming around his member and milking him, forcing a moan out of him as his hips bucked up into her, his first wave flooding her. Annie cried out in pleasure, her hands squeezing Adam's as Adam sent several more blasts of his seed into her. Finally, he was spent and she collapsed on top of him, panting but feeling him remaining hard inside of her.

"I think...you'll have to...do the next round...yourself," Annie panted.

Adam simply lay there, regaining his own breath before speaking. "Why?"

"I don't have long left," Annie said. "Before my time's up, I want to be able to have a family with you. Even if it's only for a little while. I want to be able to pretend we're a normal couple, even if it's only a few months. And even if I wasn't dying, I want to have a family with you. I love you."

Adam kissed her, Annie kissing him back before he slipped out from under her and lifted her hips a bit as he knelt behind her, Annie sliding her legs up under herself to keep her rear propped up.

"I suppose we'd better make sure you get your wish then, shouldn't we?" Adam asked.

Annie moaned in response as he pushed back into her and Adam smiled, reaching around under her and beginning to quickly rub her clit as he thrust into her, Annie's moans quickly climbing back to screams. Adam continued, burying himself in her as deep as he could again and again. This time, Annie only lasted about five minutes before finishing, and Adam continued to thrust into her right on through it, then through another. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes, Annie finally screamed into a pillow as she finished yet again. This time, Adam shoved himself deep into her one last time and began to pump his seed into her yet again. Once her insides had milked him dry again, his member began to soften and he lay beside her, Annie laying her head on his chest, both wrapping their arms around each other.

"I love you," Adam said.

"I love you too," Annie smiled.

After a few more minutes, both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

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	29. Chapter 29

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Declaration of War

Adam watched out the window as the stage and audience seats were prepared. Behind him, Annie was putting her uniform on, along with her ODM gear, Adam already wearing his.

"Are you alright?" Annie asked.

"There's a rumor that Willy Tybur is going to declare war in his speech at the end of the play," Adam said.

"Who the hell did you hear _that_ from?" Annie asked.

"Some of the Marleyan Soldiers were talking about it," Adam said. "Apparently someone leaked info from one of the higher ups' meetings that Marley's going to formally declare war on Paradis."

"If they do, what will you do?" Annie asked.

"What will _you_ do?" Adam asked. "Which side will you fight for?"

"I'll fight for whichever side you're on," Annie said.

"Then I guess we'll be alone," Adam said. "Because I'm fighting for whichever side _you're_ on."

Annie smiled, walking over and kissing him. "If they declare war, we'll try to mitigate the damage as much as possible," Annie said. "And then we'll see which side is willing to accept us and go from there."

Adam nodded and sighed, looking outside again as people began to arrive. "Time to go."

Annie nodded and they left their room, heading out into the street, then up to the rooftops on opposite sides of the square where the play was to be held, both kneeling down a little ways from the edge and enough, everyone began to take their seats and Adam caught sight of Falco leading Reiner to a cellar below the building behind the stage. He narrowed his eyes. What was Falco up to?

He looked up to Annie, who nodded to show she had seen him too, but they both remained in place. They had a job to do, after all. Before long, the band began to play and a Marleyan soldier stepped up beside the titan shifters that were present, as well as the warrior cadets, then led the titan shifters away. Adam gripped his swords, narrowing his eyes. What was _Magath_ up to?

Finally, the curtain parted and Willy bowed to the crowd, a second curtain behind him lighting up, titan silhouettes appearing on it.

"Once upon a time, about a hundred years ago," Willy began. "The Eldian Empire was using the power of the titans to rule the world. From the time of the appearance of their ancestor, Ymir, to today, who knows just how many lives have been taken by titans." the curtain rose, revealing a couple dozen men and women blindfolded and covered in fake blood. "The latest research says that humanity as we know it today could go extinct three times over and that number still wouldn't be high enough. The titans took from us an outrageous number of races and cultures, our history. These slaughterers are now humanity's history...and the path of history that the Eldian Empire chose to walk. Then, once the Eldian Empire ran out of enemies, they began to kill one another."

A man dressed as a king stepped up in the center of the stage as the bloody titan victims were replaced by men with a variety of weapons, who began to fight each other in slow motion.

"That was the beginning of the Great Titan War," Willy said. "The families who held the eight titans shed each other's blood in an endless cycle of conspiracy and betrayal."

A single man in a fancy uniform with a spear, which Adam recognized as Marley's faked folk hero Helos, stepped up beside Willy.

"There was a Marleyan who saw a way to prevail in this situation," Willy said. "None other than the great Helos. He deftly manipulated information until the Eldian Empire killed its own, again and again."

The men on the stage began to die one at a time until only one with a warhammer was left, the king kneeling down as Helos and the warhammer soldier, which Adam understood was supposed to be the Warhammer Titan, both placed a foot on the king's back, placing their fists so the backs were against each other's as they held their hands just above their shoulders.

"Then, he joined hand with the Tybur family and forced even King Fritz, said to be impossible to defeat, to retreat to an island," Willy said, the audience cheering and clapping as the curtain fell again and the silhouettes of multiple Colossal Titans appeared on it. "But thought the king retreated to the island of Paradis, he continues to have his power. Tens of millions of titans lie in wait on that island, with the power to crush the world. At the moment, our world continues to exist, intact. That is by pure chance. It is the only explanation the titan society can provide. While Marley, our motherland, sent four titans to the island to remove this threat, they were foiled and defeated. The only ones to return were the Armored Titan and the Female Titan. We have sent a total of thirty two survey ships to the island in the last four years. Every one of them has vanished. In other words, the Eldian Empire, the dark side of mankind's history, continues to be alive and well."

Willy excused himself for an intermission and Helos and the Warhammer Titan began to dance about to music while they waited. Adam rolled his eyes. If he had known the play was going to be this kind of political agenda bullshit, he probably would have followed Reiner instead. He looked over to Annie, who looked about ready to fall asleep. He raised an eyebrow and she looked over at him, blowing a kiss.

"Now, let's begin the main subject," Willy said, stepping back onto stage. "The story I have told you all so far is a truth that everyone knows. But the facts are slightly different."

Adam stared at him. Was he for real? Was he _really_ about to tell the truth? He couldn't be.

"These are memories that we, the Tybur family, have passed down from generation to generation, together with the Warhammer Titan," Willy said. "Today, these facts will be publicly revealed for the first time ever. Facts from about a century ago, concerning the Great Titan War. Who ended the Great Titan War? Was it Helos? Was it the Tybur Family? It was neither. The man who saved our world by putting an end to the Great Titan War, was King Fritz. Specifically, Karl Fritz the one hundred forty fifth. Even before he inherited the Founding Titan, he lamented the Eldian Empire's brutal history. He'd grown tired of the ugly war between families and countrymen. And most of all, his heart ached for Marley, a nation under constant tyranny. When he inherited the Founding Titan, he also decided to conspire with the Tybur family. He offered himself as a way to bring the history of the Eldian Empire to an end. King Fritz worked with the Tybur family to present a Marleyan as a hero. That man was Helos. Then, as the Eldians began to eliminate one another, just as we planned, he himself moved as many of the Eldian people as he could to the island, and enclosed them inside walls.

"As he did, he said that anyone who threatened his peace would be met with countless titans as retribution, but he did not truly mean this. In order for his successor to inherit his own philosophy even after his death, Karl Fritz created his Vow to Renounce War. Only royal blood is able to make use of the absolute power that is the Founding Titan, with its ability to control all titans. Only inheritors of this royal bloodline are affected by this vow. Because of it, Karl Fritz's ideology is passed down to each new king of the walls, which is why the titans have yet to come attacking from that island. In other words, it was the detestable king of the walls that had protected this world. Karl Fritz's heartfelt desire for peace. Yes, his goal is peace."

"Along with the liberation of Marley from its many years of persecution," the actor playing King Fritz, who was now standing beside Willy, began, "if Marley grows strong and attempts to tae the lives of the royal family or its Founding Titan, I will accept it. If Marley wishes to exterminate all Eldians, I will accept it. That is how grave the Eldians crimes were. They could never be atoned for. Eldians...titans...they never should have existed in the first place. I will accept the responsibility of righting this wrong. But, until the day that this retribution comes, I want to live inside the walls, I want to enjoy this brief paradise, this world without conflict. Please, I ask that you only grant me this."

"Those were the king's final words," Willy said as the king bowed, the entire crowd beginning to murmur about all of what they had just learned. "But...in recent years, a rebellion has occurred within Paradis, eliminating King Fritz's peaceful ideology. The Founding Titan has been stolen away by a certain man."

The screen behind him lit up, displaying a titan silhouette with a sharp-toothed grin.

"The world is in danger once more," Willy said. "Someone has come to rise against King Fritz's peaceful world. A man who rebells against peace. His name, is Eren jaeger."

Adam clenched his fists. So that's what this was all about. It really _was_ a declaration of war. Across from him, Annie looked as worried as he felt. Something felt off about the situation. He turned, looking around, but he couldn't see anyone. Something was definitely wrong though. He drew his swords, signaling Annie to be ready. She nodded, drawing her own swords and looking around. As they scanned the rooftops, alleyways, and the crowd itself, Willy began a part of his speech explaining how the Tybur family was flawed for having neglected the Eldians suffering while they, fellow Eldians lived the good life.

"I stand on this stage, parting with my false glory," Willy said, "because I now understand the dangerous state our world is in. Yes, this problem affects me, and it also affects everyone living in this world."

The screen behind him lit up with an image of the Colossal Titans from the wall standing with their arms linked.

"King Fritz used the power of the Founding Titan to give birth to massive titans," Willy said. "These were to act as both his shields and his spears. His three walls, named after the three daughters of Ymir, the founder. Wall Maria. Wall Rose. Wall Sina. These walls, both shield and spear, are made of what must be millions of Colossal Titans. The threat that Paradis poses to us is the threat of an attack in the form of a rumbling caused by these Colossal Titans. As I explained earlier, only the royal bloodline can use the power of the Founding Titan. This line will not use the Founding Titan for military purposes due to its Vow to Renounce War. But according to reports from Reiner Braun, the Armored Titan, someone has appeared who can activate the power of the Founding Titan despite an unclear relation to the royal bloodline. That is the threat posed by Eren Jaeger, who now has the Founding Titan within him. In other words, Eren Jaeger could potentially have the ability to activate this rumbling."

Adam looked away from the stage, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Where were they? Someone was going to attack soon. And he had a sinking feeling he knew who. However, he didn't know from where, or with what.

"While we saw the rise of weapons more powerful than the titans in the last war, we will never see a weapon that can prevent the advance of millions of Colossal Titans," Willy said. "If this rumbling is activated a single time, there will be nothing left we can do. All that will remain for humanity is for us to flee in terror of the sound of the inevitable footsteps signaling our end. Before long, these massive creatures will trample us all, along with our cities, civilizations, and our entire ecosystem. They will literally flatten the ground. It will be too late then. If we want to stop the threat, now is our only time. But this danger now facing the world can all be traced back to the existence of Eldians. I would choose to have never been born, if it was up to me. I've hated my blood. More than anyone else, I wished for the extinction of all Eldians. But I do not wish to die. Because...I was born into this world. We may belong to different nations and races, but I ask any of you who do not wish to die, lend me your strength! Please, I wan to t ensure our future together!"

People began to cheer. And still no attack. And still, Adam's sense of danger continued to grow.

"I want you to fight with me!" Willy shouted. "Against the devils on Paradis! It is true. We still face many issues that keep the militaries of the world from joining hands. But I believe we can band together in the face of this powerful enemy. We should be able to overcome anything if only we can work as one! As ambassador for the Marleyan government, I, Willy Tybur, wish for world peace! And so, I proclaim on this day! To the enemy forces on Paradis! This is a declaration of war!"

Just as he said this, Adam's entire body went numb as the building above Willy exploded outward, Eren's titan form erupting out of it.

* * *

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	30. Chapter 30

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Surprise Attack

There was no time to react. Eren grabbed Willy Tybur instantly, crushing him and dropping his body as he roared, the building behind him cracking rapidly. Eren ate Willy whole, then leapt out of the building at the stands where dozens of Marleyan military officers were seated. Adam glanced at Annie, seeing she was just as stunned and unsure of how to react as he was. Then, Eren had crushed the stands, killing the military officers, along with multiple civilians. Then, he went on a rampage. Adam looked around again. Was Eren alone? Suddenly, it didn't matter if he was alone. Because less than a minute after he had begun his attack, a second titan suddenly formed. Adam stared at it. That had to be the Warhammer Titan. It had a muscular masculine body with its entire body covered by titan crystal that seemed able to bend and flex like what Adam had on his torso. On the Warhammer Titan's head, the crystal was formed into a sort of helmet with its eyes exposed behind segmented sections and the helmet having a segmented section over its mouth and nose. However, the moment it was formed, Eren punched it, dropping it to the ground before beginning to beat it relentlessly. Then, suddenly, a massive spire of twisted crystal exploded up from the ground, impaling Eren and lifting him into the air, the Warhammer Titan standing, most of its upper body having been demolished.

"Adam!" Annie shouted. "What do we do?"

Adam looked between the two titans. He didn't know. Which side do they help? Suddenly, the Warhammer Titan began to form a long crystal shaft, easily twice its height and tipped with a hammer head. He shook his head. They had to make a move. They had to help. He began to stand, only for something small, round, and metal to hit the back of his head. His eyes widened and he looked over at Annie, who glanced at him then froze, eyes wide with fear.

"Is that Levi?" Adam asked, turning to look, seeing he was correct.

Except, Levi was wearing Kenny's unit's anti-personnel ODM gear with the shotgun having been replaced by what looked like a semi-automatic pistol and with a Thunder Spear under each arm.

"I see," Adam said. "So you came prepared for anything. I see you got my messages."

"We did," Levi nodded. "Now, you're under arrest. Make a single move, and I blow your brains out."

Adam heard artillery guns going off but ignored it. "You'e changed a bit, Levi. I remember you being the symbol of justice once. And then you captured Annie, and you just slowly sank from the symbol of justice to he symbol of spite. Eren has been the symbol of vengeance the entire time, of course, but you...I had such respect for you once."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Levi said. "Eject your blades."

Adam sighed. Then, he threw himself to the side, Levi's first bullet nicking his ear and making his ear ring, but then Adam was on his feet and slashed at Levi, who was forced to leap away, since his metal gear couldn't withstand Adam's blades. Then, Adam leapt off the building, taking off, Annie doing the same. As Adam flipped to look back at Levi, Levi caught up with him, firing multiple times, five bullets slamming into Adam's chest, Adam crashing to the ground and rolling to a stop. Annie screamed, landing beside him just as Levi landed behind her, gun to her head. Then, Adam drove his sword into Levi's abdomen, Levi's eyes widening in shock as he staggered backward, one hand to his abdomen, blood running down his chin.

"Nice try," Adam growled, standing and ripping his shirt off. "Annie."

Annie quickly fixed his crystal, then looked to where Eren was rising out of his now headless titan. Adam glanced at them as Mikasa swung up behind the Warhammer Titan, four thunder spears on each arm. She drove all eight into the Warhammer Titan's weak point, flipping over it and detonating them, the blast knocking the titan forward several steps. Then, the anti-titan artillery that had been set up off to one side began to explode rapidly as Jean and several of Adam's other former friends destroyed them and slaughtered the troops. Mikasa landed on Eren's titan shoulder and Adam looked back to Levi as he stood.

"Don't," Adam warned. "Contrary to your personal belief, I don't have a score to settle with you. Not right now, at least. We have bigger fish to fry."

"Excuse me?" Levi asked.

"Annie, let's go," Adam said. "We need to help Eren and Mikasa with the Warhammer Titan."

"Didn't she just kill it?" Annie asked.

"It's never been that easy," Adam said.

Annie nodded and launched herself into the air, flipping and transforming. Then, Adam swung up to her shoulder. Annie began to walk over, standing at a triangle with Eren and the Warhammer Titan as Magath, who was off to the side began to shout.

"Kill him, Female Titan!" Magath ordered. "Crush him now!"

Adam stared at him before turning back to the fight before them. He glanced at Mikasa. She had cut her hair shorter again, though it looked like Eren had managed to convince her to stop working her body free of any fat, since she seemed to have developed a little bit more of a feminine figure than what Adam remembered, though that could have just been because she had grown three years older since he had last seen her. Eren, on the other hand, he barely recognized. He had long hair, a bears, and bandages covering one of his eyes.

Just then, a building off to the side exploded and Adam looked over at it, seeing an older Flotch swinging away from it.

"Son of a bitch!" Adam snarled. "Annie, be careful and deal with the Warhammer Titan with Eren."

Annie nodded.

"Mikasa!" Adam shouted, getting her attention before pointing at Annie then Eren, then at the Warhammer Titan.

Mikasa nodded and Adam jumped off of Annie's shoulder, swinging over to a building where Flotch and several scouts he didn't recognize were setting down barrels of oil and gunpowder, Flotch arguing with Jean over whether or not to burn everything to the ground. Adam arrived before anyone even noticed him, planting both feet in Flotch's side, smashing him to the ground before pinning him and slamming his fist into his face several times.

"You stupid fucker!" Adam seethed, punching him again. "There were women and children in that building! How fucking dare you!? They were _innocent civilians_ you stupid fuck!"

"Adam!" Jean said, aiming at him, get off of him."

Adam stood and glared at Jean. "Are you going to shoot me Jean?"

"Are you going to make me?" Jean asked.

"Don't shoot!" Armin said, landing between them. "Adam's not an enemy."

"Excuse me?" Jean asked.

"He's been sending us all the information he could get on weapons, government, military personnel, forts and bases, battle tactics," Armin said. "He's been our mole ever since coming here."

"Look what he did to Flotch!" Jean said.

"Look what Flotch did to them!" Adam shouted, pointing at the building where people, most on fire, were throwing themselves out of the building rather than burn to death, even children. "I should have just killed him for it, but that would have been too good for him!"

"So what then?" Jean asked.

Just then, Annie crashed into the building, falling to the ground before starting to stand, a gaping chunk missing from her side beginning to regenerate. Adam jumped onto her shoulder just as Flotch raised his hand.

"Flotch no!" Armin shouted, but it was too late.

Flotch's Thunder Spear sailed through the air at Annie, only for Adam to slash it down into one of the barrels of explosives. Annie dove away from the building, the others all taking off as well just before the spear exploded, the entire building going up in flames almost instantly, thankfully being empty already. Adam grit his teeth, turning away from Flotch as Annie stood, the Warhammer Titan turning on her.

"Can we do this?" Adam asked.

Annie nodded. Before them, the Warhammer Titan was holding a double-edged sword of crystal, slashing at Mikasa with it rapidly. Adam sent out a cable, embedding it in the Warhammer Titan's shoulder and swinging over, the Warhammer Titan paying him no mind. Then, when Adam reached it, he began to slash its throat, swinging around it in a circle, detaching the cable as he neared where he stopped and jetting away, finishing the cut and sending the titan's head rolling backward. As he jetted away, Annie suddenly stepped past him, the ground under her cratering as she caught the headless Warhammer Titan's arms, stopping it from slashing Adam. Then, Mikasa swung past the Warhammer Titan, embedding a Thunder Spear in the center of its chest, Annie diving away as it exploded, knocking the titan backward, its sword falling away. Adam swung around, landing on Annie's shoulder again just as Mikasa landed on the other.

"Hello Mikasa," Adam said. "You look good."

"I feel fat," Mikasa said. "But Eren made me promise to let Sasha and Ymir dictate how much I work out."

"Well, you would have burned your body out within five years the way you were going before," Adam said as the Warhammer Titan began to stand. "And besides that, and I'm really sorry for this in advance, but you were starting to look a little like a guy."

Mikasa gave him a blank stare for a moment before turning back to the threat. "Focus on the fight."

Just then, Eren suddenly transformed again, off to the side, and drove a hand down into the wreckage of the stage, ripping out a woman in a crystal cocoon like Annie had once been. The moment he lifted it, and it broke free of a crystal tube of sorts connected to the Warhammer Titan's body, the body collapsed. Adam smiled.

"We got them," Adam said. "Now Eren's going to have three different titan powers. Overpowered fuck."

Before he could, machine gun fire suddenly began to slam into Eren from above. Adam looked up to see the Cart Titan on top of a building, her machine guns attached to her back. Before anyone could react, Levi and the rest of the former hundred forth training unit appeared over her, where the guns couldn't aim. Three Thunder Spears went speeding toward Pieck, but she leapt out of the way, avoiding them. When she landed, turning to begin firing again, Adam landed in the center of the four gun mounts and spun, cutting all four free. Pieck leapt away, Adam swinging back up to Annie's shoulder just as a second massive formation of crystal exploded up from below Eren again, the Warhammer Titan's body forming as the base. This time, however, the crystal wasn't a single spire, it was like a massive tree, multiple spikes of crystal impaling Eren's Titan body.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted, preparing to swing over, only for the Beast Titan to step into the square.

Annie turned to engage him and Adam rested a hand on the side of her neck.

"He's the mole," Adam said quietly, Annie nodded. "Even so, let's fuck him up. I've been waiting for this day."

Annie's titan smiled knowingly and she nodded.

"Beast Titan!" Connie shouted.

"We've got it!" Adam shouted, swinging toward Zeke as Annie charged as well.

"Get out of here Pieck," Zeke said. "You can't fight against them without the Panzer Unit."

Pieck nodded and turned, fleeing instantly. Zeke scooped up a handful of debris, but as he moved to throw it, Adam shot past, slashing the tendons inside of his wrist, making his hand go limp, dropping the debris. Zeke growled in rage.

"You little shit!" Zeke growled. "I should have killed you when I had the-"

Annie drilled a fist into his face, throwing him backward. "Don't take your eyes off of the enemy, Commander Zeke."

Zeke pushed himself up, his wrist regenerating. "Forgive me. I just wanted to swat an annoying little gnat."

"This little gnat's going to fucking slaughter you," Adam said, leaping off of the building he had landed on.

He swung forward, Zeke swiping at him, only for Adam to flip over it, attaching a cable to Zeke's thigh and swinging low, holding his swords up on either side as he sung between Zeke's legs, slashing the muscles on his inner thighs. Zeke crashed to his knees instantly and Annie slammed a kick into his face, hurling him backward. Zeke recovered quickly, however, and lunged forward, drilling his own punch into Annie's jaw, knocking her back several steps. Annie stopped herself, ducking under another punch and throwing one at his jaw. He leaned back out of the way and and punched down at her from above. She spun around behind him, hooking his right arm at the elbow, using her own left elbow, before kicking the back of his legs and flipping him, smashing him down on the ground and punting him in the face, hurling him backward. He crashed down hard and began to push himself up only for Adam to land beside his left hand and launch himself upward, spinning and slicing the arm into segments as Levi had done to him the last time they had fought. Zeke staggered away from Adam and Annie caught his free arm, slamming her hand into his chin before turning and kicking his legs, smashing him to the ground on his shoulders and the nape of his neck. The moment she had, Adam attached a cable to one of his legs, swinging around them and binding them together with the cable before jetting back the other way and retracting the cable, shredding both legs as he went before jetting away. Zeke fell onto his stomach, groaning and starting to stand with his remaining limb only for Annie to stomp on it with a hardened foot, breaking it off. Then, Adam landed on the back of Zeke's neck, slashing an opening into it and dropping one of the Scout Regiment's brick-shaped explosives, which he had grabbed from Flotch while beating his face into a bloody mess, and dropped it into the opening.

"Kaboom," Adam said, jetting away just before the grenade went off, blasting Zeke's nape wide open.

Adam wasn't entirely sure how Zeke planned to survive that, but he had told Adam earlier that if he sided with Paradis after all, that was what he had to do. Adam landed on Annie's shoulder and the turned back to Eren and Mikasa, Adam seeing a heavily wounded Pieck being carried away from where Jean and a handful of others had been attacking her while several Marleyan soldiers covered their retreat. With Magath, who was carrying Pieck, were Gabi and Falco. Falco looked up at Adam as he ran and Adam sighed, raising a hand in farewell and apology. Then, he looked up as a blimp began to approach, He watched it follow several lights Jean and the others had set up along a street leading to the square and hummed thoughtfully. They had planned the attack out well. Just then, Levi landed on Annie's other shoulder, holding a Thunder Spear to the side of her neck and glaring at Adam. Adam glared right back, holding his swords ready.

"Stand down, Levi," Mikasa said, landing behind him. "They're not the enemy. They were our moles."

"Did you forget how many of our fellow scouts this bitch killed?" Levi asked. "Mole or not, she needs to die."

"You plant that Thunder Spear, and you get blown up with it," Mikasa sad, one hand resting on a sword handle at her side.

He stared at it. He hadn't noticed before with all of the chaos going on, but she and Levi both had what looked like a modified old-style blade ODM gear on as well, complete with its own cables and the blade holsters running up their thighs with the front open to make it easier to get a blade out.

Levi grit his teeth but lowered his arm. Annie walked over to where Eren was waiting for the blimp with the Warhammer Titan's cocoon and took it from him, crystalizing her hands and holding the cocoon over Eren's head. Eren obediently tipped his head back and opened his mouth as Annie squeezed. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the crystal cracked.

"Just a little more," Adam said as the crystal cracked further.

Then, it shattered completely and the Warhammer Titan's liquified body flooded into Eren's mouth, steam erupting off of him instantly. After a few more seconds, Annie tossed what was left aside then emerged from her titan body as the blimp arrived. The others all began to jet up into it and Annie and Adam followed, landing inside to find Hange and Armin waiting for them.

"Hello again Adam, Annie," Hange greeted them coldly before smiling. "It's good to have you back. You'll be locked up when we get back for a while, of course, but it's good to have you back."

Adam nodded, looking around. Out of his old group of surviving friends, only Ymir and Historia weren't present, which in no way surprised him. He turned to walk deeper into the blimp just as Flotch's fist crashed into his jaw, making him stumble toward the exit. Annie caught his hand and Adam glared at Flotch, who was being held down by Hange, Mikasa, and Jean.

"It's fine," Adam said. "Let him up. If he wants to fight me, I'll happily accept."

"I've been training hard the last three years," Flotch growled.

"Oh I saw," Adam said. "Burning women and children alive takes some serious skill, after all."

Flotch lunged at Adam but before he was halfway, Adam's boot collided with the underside of his chin, laying him out instantly.

"You're an idiot Flotch," Adam said. "Not only have I always been a better fighter, but I've been living with Annie for three years. Do you really think she never trained me to fight better in that time? We've been fighting a war for three years now. You think your training was hard? Try having to pass through machine gun and artillery fire using ODM gear with no cables, then talk to me about training."

He walked past Flotch, taking care to step on and crush the fingers of Flotch's right hand as he passed, Flotch screaming in pain.

"Adam!" Hange said.

"I didn't feel like having him punch me again," Adam shrugged. "I'll accept punishment when we get back."

He walked to the back of the area, the side doors also being open, and stopped beside Sasha and Connie.

"You made it," Adam smiled.

"You're coming home?" Sasha asked.

"I am," Adam nodded. "It's been a long time. You guys look good."

Sasha hugged him and he hugged her back just as something thumped by one of the doors. Then, just as Sasha began to turn, Gabi rolled through the door, bringing the rifle up at Sasha. Adam grabbed Sasha and spun, grunting as the bullet slammed into his back, knocking him into Sasha. He turned, Gabi staring at him in shock.

"Gabi," Adam said as Falco climbed through the door, instantly stepping in front of Gabi as the other scouts aimed at them. "Hold your fire."

Everyone stared at him until Sasha repeated the order.

Adam walked forward, stopping in front of them before kneeling and taking the rifle from Gabi, tossing it out the door. As he did, Annie knelt behind him, resting a hand on the crystal and biting her other one, repairing it for him.

"You're so high-maintenance," Annie sighed, looking to the two Warrior Cadets. "Hello you two."

"Why are you here?" Gabi asked. "Why are you betraying Marley?"

"I was never loyal to Marley," Adam said. "I was using their trust in me to send information back to Paradis. Weapons, fort locations, battle tactics. Basically anything I could get my hands on."

"And I was always loyal to Adam, not Marley," Annie said. "You two will be coming with us. The Scout Regiment's higher ups will decide how to deal with you when we get back."

Adam turned back to the others as Sasha hugged him.

"You saved me," Sasha said.

"Of course," Adam said. "I may not have been around, but I never stopped being your friend."

Sasha stared at the floor in silence. "I'm sorry about...back then."

"Don't be," Adam said. "I was expecting to have to fight you all, and die doing it, so Annie could get away. Instead, no one died, and now we're coming home."

Sasha smiled and nodded, then looked to Annie. "I...I owe you an even bigger apology."

"No," Annie said. "You didn't want to. You were just following orders. It's fine."

Sasha nodded before her face brightened. "Ymir's going to be so happy to see you again. I think she really started to take a liking to you at the end there."

"I doubt it's like that," Adam said.

"Not romantically," Sasha snorted. "You're not _that_ good looking. I mean as a best friend, or maybe family."

"Oh that," Adam said. "Maybe."

"Adam, Annie," Hange said. "Come with me. Bring the children. You'll all be restrained until we get back."

Adam and Annie nodded, Gabi and Falco obediently walking ahead of them, for lack of another option, and all four followed Hange to where they'd be waiting, right beside Zeke, who was regenerating his limbs slowly.

* * *

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	31. Chapter 31

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Imprisoned

Adam lightly trailed his hand up and down Annie's arm, Annie laying her head on his shoulder in silence. They had been back on the island for about a week already. So far, the first day pretty much everyone had come to visit. At first, they'd had their own cell. However, when Hange arrived, Annie had claimed to be pregnant and Hange had eventually agreed to allow them to stay together, and to give them a more comfortable bed. After that, less of their old friends had come to visit until only Ymir and Hitch still visited them. And Hange stopped by Eren's cell once in a while to try and get him to explain why he had forced them into a war, and what he was going to be doing next.

"You two are lucky, you know that?" Ymir said, stepping up next to their cell and leaning against the wall.

"Yes," Adam said. "I've gotten extremely lucky in my time. Even now."

Ymir smiled and nodded. "I've got some even better news than you're used to."

Adam looked up just as Historia stepped into view, her stomach rounded over with a child. Adam's jaw fell. "What the...but I thought...Aren't you two..."

"We're still together," Historia said. "My child is...well, I didn't want to become the Beast Titan any time soon. So long as I'm pregnant, I won't be."

"I see," Adam said. "Are you okay with this?"

"Not really," Ymir said. "You wouldn't believe how furious I was at the time. It'd be like if you had to let Annie get pregnant from someone else. But I _was_ able to understand her reasoning, so...here we are."

"Whose is it?" Adam asked.

"It's...well, it's a boy that used to throw rocks at me," Historia said.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Because you weren't around," Ymir said, Annie and Adam both staring at them.

"Excuse me?" Annie asked.

"Don't misunderstand, please," Historia said. "What Ymir meant was, that you would have been the first option because we trust you, and because you're an incredible fighter and a good person. Your child would undoubtedly grow up the same."

"I'm not an Ackerman," Adam snorted. "Being a good fighter and a good person is all in how you raise the kid. And I also would have refused. I could never do that to Annie. Even for a reason like that. But why not Armin? The kid would be a genius."

"He also refused," Ymir said. "Not really sure why, but he refused."

"Jean?" Adam asked. "Connie? Hell, Levi?"

"Petra would kill us if we even suggested that," Ymir snorted. "And Jean and Conny were both too in love to agree, just like you."

"What, is Jean _still_ not over Mikasa?" Adam asked.

"Oh, no, he is," Ymir smirked.

"He's been trying to win Nifa's heart since a week after you left," Historia smiled.

"I see," Adam smirked. "Fair enough."

"Anyway, now that we've discussed the inner workings of who fucked my girlfriend," Ymir said, pulling out a set of keys. "You're free to go."

"Wait, what?" Adam blinked.

"You're both being released," Historia said. "Apparently some queen doesn't want her friends in prison just for trying to stay alive."

Adam grinned. "Thank you, Historia."

Historia smiled and nodded. "Go see Hange at the old Scout Regiment HQ in the capital and she'll give you two your new gear. And welcome home."

Adam smiled and nodded, then he and Annie left, heading to the capital and finding Hange and Levi in the fort's library. As they walked in, Levi glared at them before turning away.

"There you two are," Hange said. "I already have your new equipment ready. Adam, for the same of knowing you're partial to that ODM gear you designed, I even incorporated it in yours. Annie, you're not getting blades."

"Fine with me," Annie shrugged. "I'm better with guns. And if I'm further away, I won't get shot. I'm not bullet proof like Adam."

"You're also more important," Adam said.

Hange handed them both a case containing their equipment and told them how to find the others, who were in a lounge a couple floors up. They headed up to the room and walked in, finding the rest of their friends standing or sitting around the room.

"We'll have to make a decision based on Eren's response, about who inherits his titan," Armin said, looking over at them. "You're out."

"Wow Armin," Adam said. "You've changed. And here I thought Eren was the only one. So I guess the only one still on Eren's side is Mikasa, then, huh?"

"After being away from him for a few months, we decided to test him," Connie said. "We told him Sasha had died. Do you know how he responded?"

"I'd imagine not the way you hoped," Adam said.

"That bastard laughed," Connie said.

"People grieve in different ways," Adam shrugged.

"What's so funny about Sasha's death?" Connie snapped, Adam raising an eyebrow.

"What did you tell him her last words were?" Adam asked.

"Meat," Jean said.

Adam snorted, getting a dirty look from Connie. "That's why he laughed, then. Honestly, and I mean no offense by this, but if she really did die, but I was told her last word was meat, I'd laugh too. Because that so completely explains Sasha in one word. I'd be devastated that my friend died, but I'd have to laugh at her choice of last words."

"You're a fucking piece of shit," Connie growled.

"I'm not having my vision clouded by my love for Sasha," Adam said, Connie blushing profusely. "Eren's not a bad guy because he laughed. He _is_ going to be pissed when he finds out you lied to him, though."

"I don't care," Connie said, turning to the window.

Adam shook his head. "Anyway, I have more pressing concerns than who gets Eren's Titan and who he's mad at. Armin, I need you and Hange to find a way to save Annie from the Curse of Ymir."

"You think we didn't look into that?" Armin asked. "We don't know how. We tried everything we could think of."

"That's why I'm asking you specifically," Adam said. "I need you to have Historia help you go back through the Colossal Titan's collected memories, as far as you can manage. If we can figure out how the titans _really_ first came to be, then maybe we can figure out how to cure the Curse of Ymir."

"Eren's the only one capable of having Historia unlock his memories," Armin said. "We already tried it."

Adam sighed.

"I'm sorry, Adam," Armin said. "I can't save Annie."

Adam nodded. "Okay. Just...let me know if you think of anything."

Armin nodded and Adam turned to leave.

"Adam should do it," Jean said suddenly. "If it comes down to it, Adam should inherit Eren's titan. Not only because he's strong and reliable, but also because then maybe we'd be able to have him and Historia figure out where the titans came from."

Adam stood with his hand on the door for a long while before pushing it open. "I don't think I'll be taking any titan abilities. I've got something to do in the future that requires I be alive."

Then, he left, Annie going with him.

* * *

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	32. Chapter 32

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

* * *

Changed

Adam pushed past the reporter only for another to step in front of him.

"Is it true that you betrayed us all and served Marley for three years?" the reporter asked.

"Who exactly gave you that kind of information?" Adam asked, Annie glancing at him.

"Flotch," the reporter said. "He claimed that you betrayed us to save the Female Titan who killed over two hundred people, then you deserted Paradis to Marley until you decided it served you better to return."

"I see," Adam sighed. "Well, Flotch and his friends are currently being investigated for warcrimes. Whatever information you got from Flotch is, at best, untrustworthy."

"Do you think we can win against Marley?" the reporter asked.

"It's not about winning," Adam said. "Don't write this down."

The reporter lowered his notebook.

"Against titans, there _is_ such a thing as winning and losing," Adam said. "You win, you live. You lose, you get eaten. But we're not dealing with Titans anymore. It's humans, now. It's not about winning and losing anymore. It's an entirely new situation, and one that continues to change rapidly. We're currently trying to get a feel for the situation, and as such, we don't have anything concrete to give you. I'm sorry. But I can promise you that whatever Flotch gave you is wrong. Flotch cares about Flotch, and nothing else. As soon as there's something that we're able to tell you, we will, I promise, but for the time being, you'll have to try to grit your teeth and bear with us. Try not to harass the higher ups like Hange, they've got their hands full trying to figure out our current situation, and they need to be able to concentrate."

"Okay," the reporter said. "Can...can we have something for the reports?"

Adam sighed, thinking. "Tell them that we're considering every option we've got, and we're still figuring out what new options are open to us with regards to the other nations of the world. And tell them that as soon as there's something to report, they'll read about it."

The reporter nodded and thanked him, leaving and allowing Adam and Annie into the Scout Regiment HQ.

"You handled that well," Levi said, seeming to materialize beside Adam.

"Jesus," Adam said."Where do you come from?"

"Hange and the others are inside with Flotch," Levi said. "Let's go."

He walked away and Adam and Annie followed. Once they were inside, Levi led them to a room where Flotch and three recruits Adam didn't know were seated before Hange.

"I found them," Levi said. "Also, Adam took care of the reporters problem for you. He's good with the press. He got them to leave with nothing."

"Impressive," Hange said. "As I was saying, there's no guarantee this rumbling will work as you want it to. You could even say it's nothing more than a story you heard."

That's because you're keeping Eren locked up in a cage isn't it?" Flotch asked, Adam itching to beat the shit out of him again.

"Rumbling?" Adam whispered.

"The Colossal Titans," Annie whispered back. "I guess we've decided how to proceed after all."

"Eren Jaeger will lead this nation," Flotch said. "You need to release him immediately."

"Yeah, you just might be right," Hange said. "Regardless of the shape it took, I made the decision to see Zeke's plan through. The responsibility lies with me. Which is why I can't allow any further insubordination. You will be prosecuted for the crime of leaking information about Eren. All four of you will be sent to the punishment cells."

"Happily, if that will lead humanity within the walls to victory," Flotch said, standing and beginning to walk away.

Before he could, Adam stepped forward, drilling a punch into Flotch's abdomen, lifting him and making everyone stare at him in shock. Adam caught Flotch by the hair on the back of his head and lifted him back up.

"You, selfish little shit, need to learn respect," Adam snarled. "You're lucky you're not being executed for burning those civilians, despite the fact that you _admitted_ to knowing that there were no enemy combatants in the building. you think you know best, just because you were lucky enough to not get slaughtered by the Beast Titan, but really, that was just a mistake on his part. You don't have the slightest clue what the world was really like. You came from a rich family, joined the Garrison Regiment for the easy life because you weren't good enough to join the Military Police, and then you joined the Scout Regiment for easy glory when you thought we'd stroll back to Shiganshina and plug the holes in the wall with no opposition. And you know what? I'm sorry you survived. Truly. You _should_ have died that day with the rest. The handful that lived are all _worse_ for your survival. You've done nothing but be a problem since you survived. And I've had enough. If you cause one more problem, _one_ more, I'll finish what the Beast Titan failed to do with you myself."

He dropped Flotch's head and Flotch staggered past him, glaring back at him before turning and walking away with the three recruits, all of them avoiding Adam, especially when he wasn't immediately punished for hitting Flotch. Once they were out of the room, Adam sat down across from Hange, Annie sitting beside him.

"Let's get this over with," Adam said.

"You're not being punished," Hange said. "You received your punishment for defecting to Marley already, and you're right about Flotch being a problem that needs to be dealt with. Just...don't take matters into your own hands again. Okay?"

Adam nodded and Hange stood, walking out of the room, the others leaving as well, leaving Adam and Annie alone with Levi.

"So, Levi, how's Petra?" Adam asked.

"She's good," Levi said, staring at the ground. "Eventually she forgave me. I still want you dead, Female Titan, but, for the record, I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass."

Adam stared at him before smiling and nodding. "Thank you."

Levi nodded. "That crystal, what happened?"

"The wounds from when we were escaping were bad," Adam said. "I couldn't make it to Marley as I was. So Annie encased my torso in crystal to stop the bleeding. But something went wrong and the crystal fused with my skin. Now it's a part of me. It doesn't recover on its own, however, so any time it's damaged, Annie has to fix it herself."

Levi nodded. "I see."

Adam sat in silence for another few moments before standing. "I'm going to go and see Eren. I have a feeling he needs another high horse speech."

Levi nodded. "That he definitely does. Zeke may not be able to alter the memories of a human on the level of the Founding Titan, but I have a feeling he might be able to pull off some low-level manipulation."

Adam nodded. "I'll take Mikasa." He left, finding his way to Eren's cell and stopping outside the bars. "I was going to bring Mikasa, but I don't think she should see you like this."

Eren remained silent.

"Tell me, Eren, what are you planning to do?" Adam asked. "Are you going to massacre the entire world, just because you're too impatient to look for another way? Are you really so against trying to make peace with Marley that you'll turn your back on all of your friends, on Mikasa, just to kill the Marleyans?"

Eren remained silent.

"I lived with them too, you know," Adam said. "I _know_ you saw as many good people as you did bad. I _know_ that you saw that the only reason they believed we were evil is because they were as brainwashed against us as we were to believe that all of humanity was wiped out. Killing them for that is no better than killing us for believing we were alone."

Eren remained silent.

"I see," Adam said. "So you've gone and decided you're special again. You listened to someone who all but worships Zeke, a man who massacred _hundreds_ of our friends, talk about how important and how great you were, and as a result, you've now gone and forgotten that all you ever do is get friends killed."

"Sasha's alive," Eren said.

"Yes she is," Adam nodded. "Because I blocked the bullet for her. If I hadn't been there, she'd have died. But let's forget about Sasha for a moment. Let's talk about Mikasa. You know, your girlfriend. The one you ordered to fight the Warhammer Titan, _alone_ , just so you could get a power boost to match your ego. Or how about Armin, the friend who hates killing that you forced to murder _hundreds_ of people when you chose to ruin our chance at making peace with Marley. Do you want to talk about him?"

"I told Mikasa to _distract_ the Warhammer Titan because I knew she could handle it," Eren said. "I asked Armin to destroy the port and the ships because if we hadn't they would have launched an assault on us immediately, and only Armin could destroy the ships all in one go. And as for Mikasa being my girlfriend, she's not. relationships are a distraction that I simply don't have time to waste indulging."

Adam stared at him, hands curling into fists.

"So you don't care if Armin and Mikasa die?" Adam asked. "You'd sacrifice them?"

"That's right," Eren said. "If I have to sacrifice them to save the Eldians from Marley, I will."

"I hate to break this to you, but you DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE THAT! ! !" Adam seethed. "It's not your choice who dies or for what! You don't get to decide their fate! Right now, they're both trying desperately to convince the military to keep you alive! And you're sitting here deciding how to sacrifice them!? How _DARE_ you!?"

"I'm _going_ to save the Eldians," Eren said, staring at him blankly. "And anyone who gets in my way will be dealt with."

Adam stared at him before standing. "I hope you rot in prison. And I pray that I get chosen to inherit your power. At least then it'll be with someone who doesn't go out of his way to find a reason to seek vengeance. At least then maybe the people you pretend to care about will survive."

He turned, storming out of the room and finding Annie waiting on the surface.

"That bad?" Annie asked.

"That is _not_ Eren Jaeger," Adam said. "We need to warn Hange that Eren's beyond help."

"Tomorrow," Annie said. "It's already late. Just come back home for tonight. Tomorrow we can warn Hange."

Adam sighed and nodded. They headed back to their house and changed into pajamas, both getting in bed and Annie instantly moving to straddle his waist. Adam raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"So that's why you wanted me to come to bed," Adam smirked, hands resting on Annie's thighs.

Annie smiled. "Well, technically yes. but there's something I want to tell you first."

Adam's brow furrowed and he nodded. "What's up?"

"I'm late," Annie said.

"Late?" Adam asked. "For wha..." he stared at her, Annie smiling sheepishly and nodding, Adam's eyes growing to the size of saucers. "So then...you're..."

Annie nodded.

"So we're..." Adam trailed off and Annie laughed.

"Yes," Annie smiled, kissing him. "I'm pregnant."

Adam smiled, kissing her and rolling over so that he was on top. Annie kissed him back, smiling as his tongue trailed across her lip, Annie allowing him access, her own tongue meeting his. After several minutes, he pulled back, smiling down at her.

"I love you," Adam smiled.

"I love you too," Annie smiled back. "Now hurry up and make sure I didn't lie to you."

Adam grinned, kissing her again instantly.

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	33. Chapter 33

I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.

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Traitor

Adam walked along with Annie, Mikasa, and Armin as they headed to Scout Regiment HQ so that Armin and Mikasa could request permission from Zachery to see Eren and Adam and Annie could tell Hange what Eren had told them. However, as they were walking toward the door, three Scout Regiment recruits ran away from the building, toward the back gate. Adam stopped.

"Everything okay?" Annie asked.

"Yeah," Adam said. "You go on ahead. I'm going to check on something."

Annie looked unsure but nodded and walked away with Mikasa and Armin. Adam turned, following the three recruits as they ran away into the forrest. Adam followed, jogging to keep up before stopping at a thin road over a cliff where a huge group of recruits was present, most with rifles, and Flotch in front of them. Adam glared at him, preparing to step out and demand to know how he escaped prison only for a cliff beside the road off to the side to explode and Eren to walk out of the hole, shirtless and calm. He walked toward Flotch and Adam stood, walking out in front of him.

"Well well, I go for a stroll, and look what I find," Adam said. "A rat and a man who abandoned his morals for the sake of someone else's fight."

"You have no room to talk," Eren said, holding up a hand to tell the others, mainly Flotch, not to shoot. "I'm not in the mood for a speech today, Adam. Just walk away."

"I can't do that," Adam said. "I don't know what Zeke did to you, but I'm going to undo it right here and now."

He dropped into his and Annie's combat stance and Eren sighed, nodding and motioning for Adam to attack. Adam waited, knowing better than that. Eren, upon seeing that Adam wouldn't make the first strike, stepped forward and punched at Adam. Adam blocked the punch, moving to trap his arm only for Eren to grab his arm flipping him and slamming him down on his stomach, holding his right arm up. Then he stomped on Adam's elbow. Adam screamed and Eren stomped on both ankles as well. Then, he turned, walking away. The recruits all followed, Flotch grinning at Adam for a moment before following. Adam grit his teeth, resting his head on the ground as tears of pain, frustration, and rage leaked from his eyes. Finally, he lifted his head, beginning to drag himself along the road toward the city using his only functioning limb. After about a mile, long after the sun had set, someone finally found him, a merchant, he guessed, judging by the full cart, and shouted in surprise.

"Jesus, what happened!?" the merchant shouted, running over to him.

"A traitor," Adam growled, gritting his teeth and struggling not to shout in pain as the merchant carefully lifted him into the seat of the cart. "Get me to the Scout Regiment HQ, quickly."

The merchant nodded and flicked the reins, the horses taking off quickly. Adam grit his teeth, bearing with the pain as well as he could, and after what felt like hours, they finally rolled to a stop, the merchant calling to the soldiers present for help. A moment later, several Garrison Regiment soldiers lifted Adam out of the cart and hurried him into the building to the infirmary, where his broken joints were reset as best they could be. A few moments later, Annie, Mikasa, Armin, and Hange all arrived, Annie throwing her arms around Adam instantly as the others sat around him.

"What happened?" Hange asked.

"I met Eren," Adam growled. "He's definitely changed. He has every intention of meeting with Zeke, and once he does, he'll send the Colossal Titans out, I bet. I tried to stop him, but he did this. He's gotten good."

Hange nodded, staring at the floor. "Who was with him."

"Looked like about a hundred troops, almost all of them Scout Regiment," Adam said. "Flotch was their leader, under Eren. Although, Eren's...I doubt he gives two shits about them. They're just a means to an end."

Hange nodded. "I have to go and report this to the other officials. Mikasa, Armin, I need you to come with me. Annie, stay here and look after him."

"Of course," Annie nodded.

Hange and the other two left quickly and Adam gave Annie's hand a light squeeze with his good one, Annie smiling slightly before it fell away.

"How did things get so bad so fast?" Annie asked.

"They were getting bad a while ago," Adam said. "We just didn't notice."

Annie nodded. She climbed into the bed on his good side and lay with her head on his chest, Adam wrapping his arm around her. Annie sighed, feeling the crystal over his torso through his shirt.

"You're going to be down for the count for a while," Annie said.

"Probably, yeah," Adam nodded. "I think I'm probably out of this fight."

Annie nodded. "That's alright. For right now, all we have to do is rest."

"Please be careful," Adam said. "I don't want to lose you."

Annie smiled and nodded. They lay in silence for a long while before either of them moved. Neither wanted to leave the other. Finally, however, Annie sighed heavily.

"Go," Adam said, already knowing what she had planned. "Do what you have to do."

"I promise I'll be back soon," Annie said.

"Don't worry about me," Adam said. "I'm hard to kill."

She smiled and nodded, kissing him before standing and hurrying out of the room. Adam lay in silence for a long while. He knew what she was doing. She was going to make sure Historia and Ymir were safe. Then she was going to go and make sure Zeke was being kept under control. Levi would probably not accept her help, but with Eren a traitor, he'd need it. Adam, on the other hand, would be sitting the entirety of the inevitable war out in his hospital room. Or he'd be executed. It depended on who found him. After what had to have been hours, the door began to creak open. He looked over and stopped, staring at Eren. Eren stared back silently. Then, he turned, looking down the hallway in both directions.

"I'm going to have some fun with him," Eren said to whoever was with him. "No one enters no matter what they hear."

"Understood," a female voice replied.

Eren stepped into the room and closed it, locking it before wedging a chair under the doorknob. Then, he walked over to the side of the bed and stared down at Adam. "Does it hurt?"

"Give me some time to heal and I'll show you," Adam snarled.

"If you hadn't been sharp enough to find me, you wouldn't be in the hospital right now," Eren said. "For the record, I'm sorry for being so rough with you."

"Are you serious?" Adam scoffed. "You're apologizing _now_? To _me_? You should be apologizing to Mikasa! You should be killing Zeke, and Flotch!"

Eren was silent for a long moment. "I've hurt Mikasa more than I can ever apologize for. Even more so now. And I couldn't allow Annie to lead anyone to Ymir and Historia.

"What the fuck did you do to Annie!?" Adam snarled.

"I redirected her to Zeke and Levi," Eren said. "I didn't hurt her, don't worry."

Adam narrowed his eyes at Eren suspiciously. "You're...planning something. What?"

Eren remained silent for a long while. "This is going to hurt. A lot. Worse than any pain you've ever felt. Once it's done, you need to get to Annie and Levi. Then I want you to keep the others alive."

Adam's eyes widened. "You're..." he dropped his voice to a whisper. "You're using Zeke?"

Eren didn't answer, instead pulling a scalpel out of his pocket and cutting his thumb before also cutting a small opening into Adam's shoulder.

"Please tell me you're not," Adam paled.

"Protect everyone you can," Eren said, placing his hand over the cut.

Then, his cut shone and agony exploded through Adam's body as he shook and convulsed, screaming and shrieking so loudly that blood flew from his mouth in seconds. His body jerked and clenched, his eyes rolled back in his head, and still he couldn't loose consciousness. There was too much pain. White-hot agony spread through his body at an agonizingly slow pace, following his every bone, allowing him to feel and memorize the exact placement of them. It reached his broken bones and forcefully reset them and his scream went silent. His body shook and convulsed harder as it reached his ribs, his neck, his skull. It spread downward. Tailbone, hip bones, pelvis, knees, shattered ankles agonizingly grinding and popping as they were forced back together, including the splinters that had left the joints. Then, finally the pain stopped spreading and he collapsed, panting, struggling to remain conscious, and head rolled to the side as Eren turned and walked to the door, speaking to whoever was on the other side as he opened the door, then closed it as he left. Finally, Adam's consciousness fled and darkness swallowed him, blocking out the pain, finally.

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